The City of Sugar Land and Fort Bend County have faced significant challenges due to erosion along the Brazos River for many years. This erosion has resulted in severe economic and infrastructural repercussions, threatening over 700,000 county residents, hurricane evacuation routes, bridges, water supply intakes, levees, and parkland. The erosion issue has been exacerbated by the increased intensity of recent storm events, leading to accelerated bank erosion. This erosion endangers both public and private infrastructure, with an estimated $8 billion at risk.
This project is funded by the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) grant for the Brazos River Erosion - Riverstone repair under State HB-1 of the 2023 Legislature. The City of Sugar Land City Council authorized the execution of a grant application with the TWDB in October 2023 in the amount of $28 million to address the riverbank erosion in the Riverstone area. The City received the funds from the TWDB in August 2024.
In order to identify qualified design engineers for these services, staff issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for engineering and design services in accordance with the TWDB requirements and the City's policies.
Three Statement of Qualifications (SOQs) were received and reviewed to determine the most qualified and responsive provider for the engineering professional services, giving consideration to the ability to perform successfully, compliance with public policy, record of past performance, integrity, financial and technical resources, under the terms and conditions of the proposed procurement process required by TWDB and the City.
The company selected by the City to provide project-related engineering design and delivery services is Huitt-Zollars Inc.
Huitt-Zollars Inc. will provide the following services as necessary:
- Preliminary Engineering Services
- Surveying
- Hydraulic and Hydrologic Modelling
- Wetland Delineations
- Ordinary High Water Mark Identification
- Historic and Cultural Resources Survey
- Threatened and Endangered Species Survey
- Final Design Services
- Obtaining US Army Corps permitting as required
- Bid Phase Services
- Construction Administration Services
The Engineering Department recommends authorizing a professional services contract with Huitt-Zollars Inc. for design and construction administration phase services in the amount of $1,978,500.00 for the CIP CDR2502 Brazos River Erosion - Riverstone project.