As part of the 2013 Parks Bond program, the citizens of Sugar Land approved the hike and bike trail projects as Proposition No.3. The Proposition included the Imperial Connector Trail, Sugar Land Trail (formerly known as Ditch H Trail), and First Colony Trails.  The Imperial Connector Trail project was completed in 2016, and the design for the Sugar Land Trail is underway. The First Colony Trail Project will fulfill the intent of creating a connected trail network within the First Colony area.  The design scope has been revised from the original 2013 Parks Bond based on stakeholder feedback during public engagement in 2017. Stakeholder coordination and public engagement meetings were held between April 25, 2017 and May 4, 2017 with the Colony Park and Colony Grant neighborhoods, Saint Laurence Church, Fort Bend ISD, and Fort Bend Levee Improvement District No. 2. City Council concurred with the revised scope in 2019.  The revised scope will include 10-foot wide trail connections from Lexington Boulevard and Austin Parkway to the Woodstream Trail, and a below-grade crossing at Sweetwater Blvd.  Pedestrian bridges will be constructed over Ditch A at the Ditch D intersection, Ditch A at Sweetwater Blvd, Ditch C at Austin Parkway and Ditch C at Mesquite Park. 

The Ditch A at Sweetwater Blvd bridge and the Ditch C at Austin Parkway bridge were bid as alternate items to be constructed if funding allows.  Staff is seeking to award both.

An Invitation to Bid (ITB) was advertised on September 7th and September 14th. Bids were opened on September 29, 2022, and nine (9) bids were received.  Two of the bids were deemed unresponsive. The bid summary follows:

The responsible low bidder is DG Medina Construction, with a total bid of $3,226,843.85.

The project was also included in the 2020 Fort Bend County Parks Bond, which allocated $1,485,000 towards construction. CIP CPK1506 First Colony Trail has a balance of $1,243,319.00 bringing the total current available budget to $2,728,319.33. Funding for construction administration, construction materials testing and contingency is estimated at $161,475.48 bringing the total estimated funding needs to $3,428,319.33.  This leaves a budget gap of $700,000.   

Staff recommends a budget amendment of $700,000.00 from CIP CPK1702 Sugar Land Trail (Ditch H Trail) to CIP CPK1506 First Colony Trail.  CIP CPK1702 Sugar Land Trail is currently at 60% design and the estimated construction cost is approximately $6M, including a 30% contingency.  There is currently an available budget of $6.4M in the project.  In addition, the project was included in the 2020 Fort Bend County Parks Bond package with a funding of  $3.2M, which results in the total budget of $9.6M. After the moving $700,000.00 to CIP CPK 1506 First Colony Trail, there would be approximately $2.9M fund balance in the CPK 1702 Sugar Land Trail project. We intent to use the fund balance toward future trail projects as identified in the 2020 Fort Bend County Parks Bonds.

The Notice to Proceed is planned to be issued in December 2022, and the contract time is 180 calendar days. The anticipated completion of the project is in May 2023.

In accordance with Policy CO-110, Notification of Construction Impacts and Service Interruptions, this is classified as a Neighborhood Project.  There will be temporary single lane closures during normal working hours. Notification will be provided via the City's website, HOA notifications, social media postings. 

Staff recommends the approval of a construction contract with DG Medina Construction for the CIP CPK 1506 First Colony Trail and Pedestrian Bridges Project, in the amount of $3,226,843.85 and authorize a budget amendment of $700,000.00 from CIP CPK1702 Sugar Land Trail (Ditch h Trail) to CIP CPK1506 First Colony Trail.