Doherty Drive Construction In Limbo

They're fun to watch but, oh, what a headache these brown, long-nosed birds are causing in Larkspur.

The clapper rail, endangered in California, is coming up on its nesting season. The birds will soon take over the saltwater marshes around Larkspur and Corte Madera, including the area on Doherty Drive near Redwood High School and the new Twin Cities Police Department headquarters.

The brief window before the rainy season was going to make the renovation of Doherty Drive difficult enough to complete this year, but now it looks like the City of Larkspur might have to wait until 2012.

The Larkspur City Council asked City Manager Dan Schwarz during the August 17 meeting to continue looking for competitive bids for the project after the lowest bid came in at nearly $2 million. That sparked concerns among City staff that a new bid might not be awarded in time for crews to start the job before late next year. 

The project includes repaving a segment of Doherty Drive between Riviera Circle to the entrance to Piper Park, as well as raising the roadway by a foot, widening sidewalks and improving drainage.

Ghilotti Construction's total base bid came in at $1,810,592.35, the lowest of the four bids received, but still nearly $1 million over budget. That bid also proposed 14-hour workdays, including weekends, and flexibility in road closures and traffic access. The Engineers Construction Estimate for the project was considerably lower, $1.3 million.

Schwarz had earlier recommending that the City Council authorize a transfer of $75,000 into a contingency fund to deal with potential delays.

City officials had hoped to start the project this summer, but workers found two sets of nesting clapper rails under the Doherty Bridge, temporarily derailing the plans. The birds breed and nest from February to August.

Mayor Larry Chu has already notified parents of Redwood High School students that the construction likely won't begin until 2012.

Doherty Drive was rated by the Metropolitan Transportation Agency as the area road most in need of repair.

Director of Public Works Hamid Shamsapour explained the City Council could reject any or all of the bids and seek a new alternative. He also warned that delays could raise the cost of the project as materials and labor could become more expensive.

The City Council is expected to hear an update on the project during Wednesday's 6:30 p.m. meeting at City Hall. Among the consent calendar items on the agenda is a proposal to adopt Resolution No. 47/11 to "amend the professional services agreement with PB Americas Inc., for additional design and environmental work on the Doherty Drive Bridge and extension o the contract."

Also on the agenda is a response to the Grand Jury Report regarding the Ross Valley Sanitary District.