2006 NS Contract - Buckhorn Rd EDD/Gravelly Hill Water/Sewer Project - Mebtel Telephone Service Lines

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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: May 4, 2006 Action Agenda Item No. .~- ~ SUBJECT: Buckhorn Road EDD/Gravelly Hill Water/Sewer Project -Relocating MebTel Telephone Service Lines from Water/Sewer Path DEPARTMENT: County Manager PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTACHMENT(S): Contract to Relocate Telephone Lines INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Thames, County Engineer 919-245-2303 PURPOSE: To consider approving a contract with MebTel Communications for relocating existing telephone lines along the north side of West Ten Road to prevent interference with the construction of the County's Buckhorn Road EDD/Gravelly Hill Water/Sewer project. BACKGROUND: During the existing utility location/surveying/design process for the Buckhorn EDD utility project, Coulter Jewell Thames (CJT), the County's project engineering consultant, discovered that there were numerous telephone cables installed in and along both the north and south shoulders of West Ten Road between (and beyond) the Gravelly Hill Middle School site and Buckhorn Road. The presence of at least three discrete cables in the southern shoulder with only one in the northem shoulder, was the primary factor in developing a project design in which both the water and sewer lines would be installed in a common trench and that trench would be located in the northern shoulder of West Ten Road. CJT determined that MebTel was the owner of the cable in the northern shoulder and then contacted MebTel to discuss various strategies for working around the existing telephone cable. MebTel indicated that the only strategy satisfactory to them would be for the cable to be removed/ relocated by its own construction crews with the cost of that work (approximately $37,000) being borne by the water/sewer project owner. CJT informally consulted with several utility contractors to evaluate the efficacy of having MebTel remove the telephone cable as opposed to having the water/sewer project contractor work around the cable. CJT determined that it was advantageous in terms of expenditures of funds and construction time to have MebTel relocate the telephone cable and has recommended that the County pursue having MebTel relocate the cable. Completion of that work is critical to getting water and sewer lines in the ground as soon as possible, in light of the scheduled opening of the new middle school in August 2006.