All bids for Lodi’s Church Street project rejected

Plans would alter street segment to add bike lanes

The Lodi City Council approved a request by city staff to reject all pricing bid proposals for the Church Street bike and pedestrian improvement project during Wednesday’s council meeting.

The project would modify a segment of North Church Street between Lodi Avenue and Lockeford Street, with the number of lanes reduced from two to one lane each way and include a center turn lane.

The project would provide designated bike lanes that would have an estimated four to five feet wide on both sides of the street, with curb ramps at intersections.

Existing traffic signals would be modified to include separate left-turn or right-turn arrows and video detection systems for cyclists and motorists.

Lodi’s Public Works Department introduced the street design during a meeting in April. The project was approved by council in May, and the concept was finalized this past summer.

City engineers estimated the cost of the project at $1.6 million, with Measure K funding — a halfcent sales tax originally passed in 1980 to fund transportation improvements in San Joaquin County — covering $1.46 million.

According to Public Works Director Charles Swimley, it was initially projected that grant funds would mostly cover the cost of the project, but once bids came back from the construction companies the costs was much higher than the city’s estimate.

“We didn’t want to initiate a project that we didn’t have appropriate funding for,” Swimley said. “The lowest bid exceeded our estimate by about $650,000.”

Swimley said rejecting the bids allows staff to take another look at the project scope and figure alternative outcomes that can streamline the project and reduce some of the costs.

“Let’s wait for the brisk construction activity and climate to settle down, and take another stab at it again this time next year,” he said.

Councilman Bob Johnson asked Swimley why the city’s estimate was lower than the cost of the project.

“Sometimes you can hit an estimated project cost pretty good as an engineer, other times it doesn’t work out that way,” Swimley said.

Councilman Doug Kuehne said staff’s recommendation to reject the bids shows the public that the city is being prudent with taxpayer money.

Although the project is currently postponed, the city said it is still committed to the project and staying in the bike lane.

“The project is still on the horizon for next year,” Kuehne said.

City master plans call for the Church Street bike lanes to connect with existing bicycle lanes, creating a northsouth route through town, something Bike Lodi, a local advocacy group, has been championing.