During the management reports section of the April 14 meeting, Capital Projects staff told the board that additional change orders — collectively described during discussion as roughly $3,210,000 — were necessary after crews uncovered shallow or unidentified water and sewer lines while reconstructing streets such as Sycamore, Austin and Walnut.
A senior project manager said crews found aging infrastructure that either needed replacement or had to be lowered to avoid future conflicts with the new roadway subgrade. The manager explained that on some streets utilities were shallower than expected and that the work included lowering or replacing the lines and bringing them to modern depths to prevent conflicts with the reconstructed pavement.
Board members asked that future agenda backup include a brief description of reasons for change orders so the dollar increases are not presented only as line items. Staff agreed to provide more descriptive backup on future agendas.