QUARTERLY
PROGRESS
REPORT
No. 17| January 2015
INDEPENDENT ENGINEERING REPORT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Ray A. Wilkerson, Chairman
James H. Mills, Vice-Chairman
Robert L. Bennett, Jr., Treasurer
Nikelle S. Meade, Secretary
David Singleton
Charles Heimsath
David B. Armbrust
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Mike Heiligenstein
GENERAL ENGINEERING
CONSULTANT (GEC)
DESIGN/BUILD
CONTRACTOR
PROJECT PARTNERS
QUARTERLY PROGRESS REPORT No. 17
INTRODUCTION
The MoPac Improvement Project is a $204 million project which will add one Express Lane in
each direction along an approximately 11-mile stretch of MoPac from Cesar Chavez Street in
downtown Austin to Parmer Lane north of Austin within existing right of way. The Project is an
effort to address the mobility problem in this corridor and takes into account the needs of
drivers, transit riders, pedestrians, bicyclists, and the concerns of surrounding neighbors.
Environmentally cleared in August 2012, the Project will be built in cooperation with the Texas
Department of Transportation (TxDOT), the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
(CAMPO), the City of Austin, Capital Metro (CapMetro), and the Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA).
The Express Lanes will be located in the middle of the MoPac corridor separated from the
existing general purpose lanes by a four foot wide striped buffer zone with flexible pylons.
Drivers will be able to access the MoPac Express Lanes at Cesar Chavez Street, near Far West
Boulevard, or near Parmer Lane. While this addition of lanes will require widening of the
pavement, the Express Lanes project requires no property acquisition and all existing non-toll
general purpose lanes and the UPRR corridor will remain.
In addition to the Express Lanes, the MoPac Improvement Project will include: sound walls; a
Collector/Distributor road under Steck Avenue; aesthetic enhancements and significant
landscaping; bicycle and pedestrian improvements including two shared-use paths; full
mainlane overlay with porous friction course (PFC) pavement which serves as a wet weather
safety improvement measure; enhanced incident management (cameras and traffic data
collection); and a significant community relations effort.
The Mobility Authority entered into a contract with CH2M HILL to design and build the MoPac
Improvement Project. The agreement requires the project to be substantially complete by
September 17, 2015. The Contractor developed an acceptable Baseline CPM (Critical Path
Method) Schedule for the Project. The Mobility Authority issued Notice to Proceed (NTP) on
April 18, 2013.
This report describes the status of the MoPac Improvement Project and documents the
activities accomplished from October through December 2014.
MoPac Improvement Project
Quarterly Progress Report, No. 17
Page 1
Segment 1: Parmer to UPRR
Segment 2A: UPRR to US 183
Segment 2B: US 183 to RM 2222
Segment 3: RM 2222 to Enfield
Segment 4: Enfield to Cesar Chavez
MoPac Improvement Project
Quarterly Progress Report, No. 17
Page 2
SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES
The following activities have been accomplished by the Mobility Authority, its consultants, and
the D/B Contractor during the reporting period.
DESIGN ACTIVITIES
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Task force meetings continue on an as needed basis and over the shoulder informal reviews have
been completed. The Mobility Authority's GEC is performing oversight of the Contractor activities.
42” waterline plans being finalized by City of Austin. Prompt completion and required permitting by
the City is important to avoid impacts to schedule. Utility easements and rights-of-entry still need to
be acquired.
Reviewed and accepted NDC (Notice of Design Changes) for specific design changes.
CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES
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Segments 1 & 2A (Parmer Lane to US 183)
o Continued installation of drilled shafts for bridges
o Placement of flexible base (preliminary activity of paving)
o Initial asphalt paving layers placed
o Construction of retaining wall foundations and panels
o Drilling for bridge foundations
Segment 2B (US 183 to RM 2222)
o Forming and placement of median retaining wall footings and stems
o Drilling for large guide sign foundations
o Construction of temporary ramps
Segment 3 (RM 2222 to Enfield Road)
o Girders placed on bridge widening for southbound lanes at 45th Street
o Embankment and select fill being placed along mainlanes
o Installation of drilled shafts for Noise Barrier
o Continued subgrade preparation on northbound and southbound lanes
Segment 4 (Enfield Road to Ladybird Lake)
o Installation of drilled shafts for noise barriers
o Cast-in-place panels for retaining wall along Johnson Creek Trail constructed
o Tunneling operations for 60” and 54” drainage pipes continues. 60” tunnel is
complete – 54” is very close to completion
o Construction of temporary ramps
Utility relocations
Roadway maintenance is being performed as required
MoPac Improvement Project
Quarterly Progress Report, No. 17
Page 3
PROJECT PROGRESS
As of December 30, 2014, 670 of the 882 calendar days to scheduled Substantial Completion
have expired. There are 261 calendar days until Substantial Completion and the Contractor is
allowed an additional 120 calendar days for Final Acceptance.
The D/B Contractor has brought on additional resources (self-performing and subcontractors)
to the Project to help address production level concerns. The D/B Contractor is assessing
opportunities to expedite the delivery of the Project and has indicated they will deploy
additional resources as applicable.
The D/B Contractor has developing a schedule to provide a better understanding of the effort
involved with completing the remaining work from the base contract. The Oversight Team is
reviewing the schedule for reasonableness of activities, task sequencing, and durations. The
Oversight Team will continue to work with the Contractor to identify opportunities to expedite
activities. The focus of the scheduling efforts going forward will be to provide an understanding
of the impact of the numerous Owner-Directed change orders to the overall completion date of
the Project.
Tunneling operations for the 60” and 54” drainage pipes in Segment 4 near the south end of
the project have taken much longer than anticipated due to the existing insitu material being
harder than originally contemplated and the need for additional equipment to excavate the
material.
Primary issues currently impacting the project schedule include D/B Contractor staff resources
and production levels, Owner Directed Change Orders, and the City of Austin 42” waterline
design completion and associated permitting and easement acquisition.
Construction Progress through December 2014
Based on the assessment of the GEC, the summary of the project progress achieved on major
work tasks through the end of December 2014 is as follows:
MoPac Improvement Project
Quarterly Progress Report, No. 17
Page 4
MoPac Improvement Project Progress
For the Period Ending December 2014
Design + Construction Tasks
Development Design
Traffic Control/Detours/Temp Barrier
Earthwork/Demolition/Removals/Drainage
Structures/Bridges/Retaining Walls
Sound/Neighborhood Walls
Geotech/Survey
Utilities
Pavement/Subbase/Base Course
Environmental Monitoring
Lighting/Signing/Striping
Toll Facilities
Landscaping/Shared use Path/Sidewalks
% Complete
92%
31%
34%
27%
15%
100%
59%
13%
47%
14%
18%
0%
SCHEDULE OF CONTRACTUAL PROJECT MILESTONES
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February 27, 2013: Selection of Best Value Proposer
April 18, 2013: NTP Issued
September 17, 2015: Substantial Completion
January 15, 2016: Final Acceptance
NEXT QUARTER ACTIVITIES
Segments 1 &2A (Parmer Lane to US 183)
• Pedestrian Bridge Substructures and Superstructure
• SUP Path Grading Approaches for Pedestrian Bridge
• Retaining Walls P1 and P2 for Shared Use Path
• Landscaping at Duval and Parmer
• Median Widening from Parmer to Cap Metro crossing
• Set Girder for Northbound and Southbound Bridges at Cap Metro crossing
• Northbound and Southbound Bridge Substructures and Superstructure at UPRR crossing
Segment 2B (US 183 to RM 2222)
• Median Widening from Far West to RM 2222
• Sign Bridge Installation
• Toll Gantry Erection at RM 2222
• RM 2222 Bridge Substructures and Girder Set Northbound
• Retaining Walls 4, 5, 8, 9
MoPac Improvement Project
Quarterly Progress Report, No. 17
Page 5
Segment 3 (RM 2222 to Enfield Road)
• Enfield Bridge Superstructures
• Windsor Bridge Substructures and Superstructures
• Westover Bridge Superstructures
• ITS/Lighting from 45th to Enfield
• 42” Waterline Bore
• Drainage Structures from 45th to Windsor
• Duct Bank from RM 2222 to Hancock
• Sign Bridge Installation
• Drilled Shafts for Sound Barriers 4, 6, 11, 15, 17
• Retaining Walls C, 13, 14, 19
• Panels and Post Installation for Sound Barriers 7, 14, 15, and 16
Segment 4 (Enfield Road to Ladybird Lake)
• Paving for Traffic Shift
• Undercrossing Drainage Outfall Jack & Boring
• Begin Undercrossing Excavation and Shoring
• Panels and Post Installation Sound Barrier 20
• Retaining Wall 36 Fascia
• Retaining Wall near Johnson Creek
PROGRESS PHOTOS
Paving Express Lanes near Braker Lane
October 2014
MoPac Improvement Project
Quarterly Progress Report, No. 17
Page 6
Excavation and Retaining Wall Construction for Cesar Chavez/6th Street
Northbound Entrance Ramp
November 2014
Grading Base Material for MoPac Roadway Widening at Enfield Road
November 2014
MoPac Improvement Project
Quarterly Progress Report, No. 17
Page 7
Drilling for Soil Nail Wall Construction at Enfield Road
November 2014
MoPac Improvement Project
Quarterly Progress Report, No. 17
Page 8
PROJECT FINANCIAL STATUS
Progress billings are received each period from CH2M HILL approval. All draw requests are
accompanied by an approved progress schedule. The original contract amount is $136,632,100.
The D/B Contractor’s November and December 2014 Draw Requests have been received and
are under review; pending progress schedule approval.
Summary of Project financial status through December 2014
Original CH2M HILL Contract Amount:
Authorized Changes (Change Order and/or Amendments):
Previous Period Change Orders
Current Change Orders:
No. 05A – RM2222 NB West Retaining Wall at Abut #21
No. 06 – Westminster Manor and Hancock Fence
Current Authorized Contract Amount:
$136,632,100
$99,247.41
$65,454.38
$157,374.29
$136,954,176.08
CH2M HILL Payments:
Amount of Draw Nos. 01-14 (July 2013 – August 2014)
Amount of Draw No. 15 (September 2014)
Amount of Draw No. 16 (October 2014)
Total Requested Amount To-Date through Draw No. 16:
$38,001,926
$2,892,096
$3,714,963
$44,608,985
Retainage withheld**:
Approved Amount for Work Completed through Draw No. 16:
_____$0
$44,608,985
Total Project Budget Expended Through December 2014:
Amount remaining for work to be completed:
32.6%
$92,347,191.08
**Retainage to be withheld only after 95% of the Authorized contract price has been paid.
Summary of Change Orders During Reporting Period
Change Order No. 05A – RM2222 NB West Retaining Wall at Abutment #21 –The RM 2222
Northbound West Wall at Abutment 21 is experiencing movement. This change order allows
the D/B Contractor to design and construct a repair to mitigate the existing wall movement.
Change Order No. 06 – Westminster Manor and Hancock Fence - This change order allows the
D/B Contractor to remove existing fence at the Westminster Manor property and Hancock and
replace with Precocrete Stone double sided precast concrete panels.
MoPac Improvement Project
Quarterly Progress Report, No. 17
Page 9
Project Cash Flow Curve – September 2014
Cash Flow Curves are provided by CH2M HILL at the time of draw request submittal.
EMPLOYMENT REPORTING STATUS
Design and construction of the MoPac Improvement Project is estimated to have supported
approximately 370 jobs during the reporting month of December 2014. This estimated number
of jobs supported by the project includes: the design personnel and management staff; the
construction personnel and their subcontractors; construction management staff, including
inspectors and subconsultants; and the general engineering consultant staff and their
subconsultants.
DBE STATUS
CH2M HILL plans to meet the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) goal of 11.7% for both
the design services and the construction work. The overall total DBE requirement for the
project, based on the original contract value, is $15,985,955. The current committed total for all
DBE subcontracts is $17,012,278. The charts below reference the current DBE Commitments vs.
Payments to date.
MoPac Improvement Project
Quarterly Progress Report, No. 17
Page 10
Design
DBE Design Commitment vs. Payment
For Period Ending December 2014
156%
of Goal
$2,500,000
$2,000,000
100.1%
of Goal Paid
Design Goal
$1,474,200
$1,500,000
$1,000,000
$500,000
$0
Payments To Date
$1,624,710.59
Commitments To Date
$2,309,344.41
Construction
DBE Construction Commitment vs. Payment
For Period Ending December 2014
Construction Goal
$14,511,755
16,000,000.00
101.3%
of Goal
14,000,000.00
12,000,000.00
10,000,000.00
8,000,000.00
6,000,000.00
4,000,000.00
19.85%
of Goal Paid
2,000,000.00
0.00
Payments To Date
$2,880,105.56
MoPac Improvement Project
Quarterly Progress Report, No. 17
Commitments To Date
$14,702,934
Page 11
COMMUNITY RELATIONS
The Community Outreach Team utilizes a robust set of communication tools to supply timely
information to numerous audiences. The team also provides several avenues for the public to
ask questions and provide comments.
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Within the reporting period, the team received approximately 107 inquiries via the 24/7
Hotline, Web Comment Form, and Email. The visibility of the restriped lanes continued to
be a major topic among the community, but after a complete restriping of the corridor in
November calls have decreased significantly. Inquiries regarding sound wall specifications
and the installation schedule are steadily increasing. The Team meets regularly with the
D/B Contractor to provide residents the latest updates on the design and installation
schedule of the sound walls. The majority of the other inquiries were general project
questions. Specific comments included:
o “When the sound wall is installed directly behind my home, will it be taller,
shorter or identical in height as the existing wooden fence mounted on the
existing concrete barrier?”
o “Please provide me an update of the schedule for that stretch of the wall. I am
unable to rent that property until it is complete because of the noise from
construction.”
o “Please consider doing something to reduce the reflection of the blacked-out lane
dividers. When the afternoon or morning sun is shining on the roadway, it's
impossible to see the difference between the newly-painted white dotted lines
and the blacked-out former lane dividers, which reflect the light and show up
clear as day. I've had too many very near-misses when other cars swerved into
my lane, thinking they were in the correct lane because they were unknowingly
following the path of the older lane dividers.”
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Construction updates continue. The Team provides daily and weekly updates for the project
Website (www.MoPacExpress.com), Social Media (Twitter and Facebook), Smartphone
Application (available for Android and iPhone), Email and Text Alerts, and the Highway
Advisory Radio (800 AM).
At the end of the reporting period, the Twitter account @improvemopac had 2,327
followers and the Facebook page had 151 likes.
E-Newsletters and the MoPac Man blog are distributed periodically to the mailing list with a
project update. Currently there are over 941 subscribers on this list. Within the reporting
period, an E-Newsletter was launched on December 29th; a Blog was posted on November
19th highlighting the history of Express Lanes.
Sound Wall Installation outreach continues along the corridor. A holiday card with a $25 gift
card was mailed out to the residents directly along the corridor as a token of appreciation
for their patience with the delay in the installation of sound walls.
Adjacent project coordination with the Mobility Authority’s multiple ongoing environmental
studies continues.
MoPac Improvement Project
Quarterly Progress Report, No. 17
Page 12
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Community outreach continues. The Team provided presentations to the Northwood
Neighborhood Association on October 16th, Bryker Woods Neighborhood Association on
November 15th, and participated in the Pressler Street Open House on November 17th. On
December 3rd the MoPac Improvement Project hosted an in depth-tour of the project site
for University of Texas engineering management graduate students. 185 residents who live
next to the MoPac Expressway received a free five-gallon tree as part of a partnership with
the non-profit group TreeFolks.
UT Engineering Students Tour of MoPac
December 2014
MoPac Man celebrates Texas Arbor day with Tree Giveaway
November 2014
MoPac Improvement Project
Quarterly Progress Report, No. 17
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