MONROE - The 8th and 9th Street reconstruction project, bogged down in federal and state regulatory forms, details and delays for almost two and a half years, now will be scaled back or not done at all anytime soon.
The cost of the project has risen to more than $3.5 million to complete. After federal and state grants, the city still would be responsible for $2.6 million, including sewer, water, the trail bridge, land acquisition, applications and engineering studies.
"We can't afford this project," Mayor Ron Marsh told the Board of Public Works on Monday.
Without assurance that the remaining $3.134 million street project would be ready for bid in the spring of 2009, the project would be delayed another two years, because board members do not want the work done during even, Cheese Days years.
So board members Monday asked department heads to look into the cost of a scaled-back project. Whether a lesser project will be viable depends on the numbers.
Department heads were asked to determine the costs of work from Seventh to 20th Avenue, and to include the cost of a bond for funding the work.
They will have access to surveying and other design work by Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc. (SEH®), a multidisciplined firm of engineers, architects, planners and scientists hired in April 2003. Mayor Ron Marsh said SEH has agreed to close the contract for a $100 fee and to give the city possession of all work completed.
The purchasing of property to widen the road, as was originally planned, will not be included, but the city still may purchase small strips of land along the route, where needed to ease traffic congestion.
Marsh noted that, with the Green County Justice Center going up, traffic patterns on 8th and 9th Street would be expected to change.
Costs of $75,000 for replacing water lines and $350,000 for replacing sewer lines will come from the water and wastewater utilities' budgets.
According to Marsh, the original project went smoothly from the time the city hired SEH until June 2006, when historical site right of way halted the project.
On June 2, 2006, the city received notice from civil engineering consulting service, K Johnson Engineers, Inc., Madison, that three criteria needed to be met for the city to keep its federal and state funding for the project: a Memorandum of Agreement, a Federal Highway Administration 4(f) evaluation and an environmental report (ER).
"All of this should have been done by May 2007, but wasn't," Marsh said. "But I want to make clear, how things were handled is due to no error or lack of input from the city."
Regardless of all the completed forms and evaluations to go forward, the cost of the original project has now become prohibitive. Any more delays only are expected to increase costs to the city.
"I'm in favor of scraping (the original project) and cutting our losses," Marsh said.
Marsh did not know whether the ER has been completely signed yet, nor did he know how much the city has spent so far on the project. However, he was concerned with the amount of time department heads have been spending.
"That's where the cost comes from," he told board members.
Marsh then produced two four-inch binders.
"And this is the amount of paper work that has been generated," he said.
Emergency repairs now going on in the area, such as for the collapse of the sewer lines east of Kwik Trip, are "a bandage on something that really needs to be fixed," Marsh said.
Marsh said funds set aside for the street project by Engineer Supervisor Al Gerber have been "eaten away" by other projects.
Marsh proposed the street be simply reconstructed and water and sewer lines replaced, from 11th to 15th Avenue in 2009 and from 15th to 20th Avenue in 2010.
But board President Keith Ingwell asked about looking at the cost of doing the entire length from Wisconsin 69 to 20th Avenue at one time using bond money to fund the project.
Member Dan Henke noted the street would have to be shut down only once with the one-shot approach.
"I can't see piece-mealing it," Henke said.
Board Vice President Mark Coplien had doubts about being able to fund the project, even with a bond.
"After all the time we spent in budget, cutting 2,000 here and 3,000 there ... but I'm with ya. Go ahead and see what it costs," he said.
Gerber said the cost for two and a half blocks of a similar reconstruction on 16th Avenue in 2008 cost $250,000 for street work alone. The new proposed 8/9th Street project could include up to 13 blocks.
The cost of the project has risen to more than $3.5 million to complete. After federal and state grants, the city still would be responsible for $2.6 million, including sewer, water, the trail bridge, land acquisition, applications and engineering studies.
"We can't afford this project," Mayor Ron Marsh told the Board of Public Works on Monday.
Without assurance that the remaining $3.134 million street project would be ready for bid in the spring of 2009, the project would be delayed another two years, because board members do not want the work done during even, Cheese Days years.
So board members Monday asked department heads to look into the cost of a scaled-back project. Whether a lesser project will be viable depends on the numbers.
Department heads were asked to determine the costs of work from Seventh to 20th Avenue, and to include the cost of a bond for funding the work.
They will have access to surveying and other design work by Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc. (SEH®), a multidisciplined firm of engineers, architects, planners and scientists hired in April 2003. Mayor Ron Marsh said SEH has agreed to close the contract for a $100 fee and to give the city possession of all work completed.
The purchasing of property to widen the road, as was originally planned, will not be included, but the city still may purchase small strips of land along the route, where needed to ease traffic congestion.
Marsh noted that, with the Green County Justice Center going up, traffic patterns on 8th and 9th Street would be expected to change.
Costs of $75,000 for replacing water lines and $350,000 for replacing sewer lines will come from the water and wastewater utilities' budgets.
According to Marsh, the original project went smoothly from the time the city hired SEH until June 2006, when historical site right of way halted the project.
On June 2, 2006, the city received notice from civil engineering consulting service, K Johnson Engineers, Inc., Madison, that three criteria needed to be met for the city to keep its federal and state funding for the project: a Memorandum of Agreement, a Federal Highway Administration 4(f) evaluation and an environmental report (ER).
"All of this should have been done by May 2007, but wasn't," Marsh said. "But I want to make clear, how things were handled is due to no error or lack of input from the city."
Regardless of all the completed forms and evaluations to go forward, the cost of the original project has now become prohibitive. Any more delays only are expected to increase costs to the city.
"I'm in favor of scraping (the original project) and cutting our losses," Marsh said.
Marsh did not know whether the ER has been completely signed yet, nor did he know how much the city has spent so far on the project. However, he was concerned with the amount of time department heads have been spending.
"That's where the cost comes from," he told board members.
Marsh then produced two four-inch binders.
"And this is the amount of paper work that has been generated," he said.
Emergency repairs now going on in the area, such as for the collapse of the sewer lines east of Kwik Trip, are "a bandage on something that really needs to be fixed," Marsh said.
Marsh said funds set aside for the street project by Engineer Supervisor Al Gerber have been "eaten away" by other projects.
Marsh proposed the street be simply reconstructed and water and sewer lines replaced, from 11th to 15th Avenue in 2009 and from 15th to 20th Avenue in 2010.
But board President Keith Ingwell asked about looking at the cost of doing the entire length from Wisconsin 69 to 20th Avenue at one time using bond money to fund the project.
Member Dan Henke noted the street would have to be shut down only once with the one-shot approach.
"I can't see piece-mealing it," Henke said.
Board Vice President Mark Coplien had doubts about being able to fund the project, even with a bond.
"After all the time we spent in budget, cutting 2,000 here and 3,000 there ... but I'm with ya. Go ahead and see what it costs," he said.
Gerber said the cost for two and a half blocks of a similar reconstruction on 16th Avenue in 2008 cost $250,000 for street work alone. The new proposed 8/9th Street project could include up to 13 blocks.