Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, September 27, 1994 TAG: 9409270120
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Without comment, City Council on Monday agreed to pay $456,515 for the city's share of the $5.3 million state construction project, which will connect Hotel Roanoke north of the tracks with the First Union parking garage on the south side.
The 5-0 vote authorizes the city manager to enter into a cost-sharing contract with the Virginia Department of Transportation for the bridge, which will be built by Branch Highways. Two council members, William White and Delvis ``Mac'' McCadden, were absent from the meeting.
Officials earlier this year had figured the locally funded portion would be $200,000. That figure included an 80-foot-long loggia, or covered walkway, connecting the hotel with an adjacent conference center. The city is supplying 100 percent of the loggia's cost because VDOT refused to pay for it.
As it turns out, the loggia was far more expensive than anticipated. Rather than the estimated $135,000, it will cost about $325,000.
The additional cost to the city probably was little surprise, because bids for the overall project came in about $2 million higher than a June estimate. Part of the reason may be the tight deadlines the contract imposes. Officials are eager to get the project completed as soon as possible.
"The cost estimates that were originally established didn't take into account forcing a 12- to 14-month project into 10 months," said City Manager Bob Herbert.
Construction is expected to begin next month. The contract calls for the loggia and all construction in front of the hotel to be finished by April 1, the hotel's projected opening date. The rest of the bridge must be finished by Aug. 1, or Branch Highways could be liable for late fees.
"Certainly, the tight time frame had an impact on it. We didn't want to have a major construction activity going on in front of the hotel when it opened," said William Clark, city public works director.
Branch Highways could collect a $1,500 bonus for each day it finishes the project ahead of schedule. The city is liable for all the bonus, but it cannot exceed $150,000.
When complete, the 390-foot-long bridge will cross 25 feet above Norfolk Southern Corp. tracks and provide hotel guests with safe and convenient access to downtown.
The bridge will replace a perilous at-grade crossing at Jefferson Street, which will be closed.
Between October of last year and June, the cost of the project grew from an estimated $2.1 million to $3.2 million, then ballooned again when bids were opened in August. Nevertheless, the Commonwealth Transportation Board on Sept. 15 recommended going forward with the project.
In other action, council unanimously agreed to lease newly remodeled office space at 317 Campbell Ave. for the commonwealth's attorney. The prosecutor's office in the city courthouse is cramped, and room is needed for consolidation of the regional drug prosecutor's office, council was told.
Under the five-year lease, the city would pay building owners John Apgar and David Damico $21,600 the first year, or $6.55 per square foot. The cost would increase $1,200 per year in each of the next four years, for a total of $120,000 over the length of the lease.
by CNB