Agenda Item #15.3
For Council Meeting of: February 10, 2026
CITY OF SANTA ROSA
CITY COUNCIL
TO: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
FROM: DAN HENNESSEY, DIRECTOR, TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT SUBJECT: CONTRACT AWARD FOR THE ROUTE 101 BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN OVERCROSSING (CML-5028(083)) AGENDA ACTION: RESOLUTION
RECOMMENDATION
The Transportation and Public Works Department (“TPW”) recommends that Council by resolution: 1) reject the bid of Gordon N. Ball, Inc. on Contract Number C00769, Route 101 Bicycle and Pedestrian Overcrossing (CML-5028(083)) (“Contract”), as nonresponsive; 2) find that Ghilotti Construction Company, Inc. of Santa Rosa, California (“Ghilotti”) is the lowest responsible and responsive bidder; and 3) award the Contract to Ghilotti for a contract amount of $37,574,978.70. The sources of funds are Capital Improvement funds, Senate Bill 1 Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Program grant funds, Transportation Development Act Article III grant funds, Active Transportation Program federal grant funds, Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program federal funds, and Regional Measure 3 grant funds.
Although the low bid for this project is approximately 29% above the engineer’s estimate, there is insufficient time to rebid the project before the grant award deadline. TPW believes that funding used for this project will not negatively impact available funding for other CIP projects as programmed including funding for any future at grade crossing at Jennings Avenue.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This resolution will award a contract for the Route 101 Bicycle and Pedestrian Overcrossing (“Contract”), in the amount of $37,574,978.70 to the lowest responsive bidder, Ghilotti Construction Company, Inc. of Santa Rosa, California.
GOAL
This item relates to Council Goal #2 - Invest in the Development and Maintenance of the City's Infrastructure by constructing new bicycle and pedestrian facilities.
BACKGROUND/PRIOR COUNCIL REVIEW
On May 12, 2008, the Council, by Resolution No. 27078, approved Cooperative Funding Agreement No. M71406 with Sonoma County Transportation Authority (SCTA) to provide $50,000 in funding to the City for the feasibility study of the Santa Rosa Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge at Highway 101.
On November 30, 2010, the Council, by Resolution No. 27774, accepted the Santa Rosa Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge Feasibility Study prepared by Steven Grover & Associates.
On November 15, 2011, the Council adopted Resolution No. 28013, approving the Cooperative Agreement between Caltrans and the City of Santa Rosa for completion of the Project Initiation Document for the Santa Rosa Junior College Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge on US Highway 101.
On September 1, 2015, the Council, by Resolution No. 28681, approved the first amendment to Cooperative Agreement M71406 between SCTA and the City of Santa Rosa making available a total of $250,000 of Measure M Funding for the proposed Bike-Pedestrian Access across Highway 101 Project.
On June 15, 2016, the Council, by Resolution No. 28801, approved the Budget for the City of Santa Rosa for Fiscal Year 2016-17, which included $500,000 for the preparation of US Highway 101 – Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge Project Approval and Environmental Documentation (PA&ED) phase.
On September 13, 2016, the Council, by Resolution No. 28859, approved Cooperative Agreement No. 04-2617 between the State of California and the City of Santa Rosa authorizing Caltrans to provide Independent Quality Assurance for the Project Approval and Environmental Document (PA&ED) phase for the US Highway 101 – Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge.
On June 20, 2017, the Council, by motion, approved Project Work Order A010019-2016-01 with BKF Engineers for the Project Approval and Environmental Document (PA&ED) phase for the US Highway 101 – Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge not to exceed amount of $907,559.
On March 20, 2018, the Council, by motion, approved Amendment No. 1 to Project Work Order with BKF Engineers to evaluate an additional project location, the Range Avenue-Bear Cub Way alignment, for the Project Approval and Environmental Document (PA&ED) phase for the US Highway 101 – Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge, increasing the contract amount by $379,344, for a total amount of $1,286,903.
On July 21, 2020, the Council provided input on the draft environmental document for the Bicycle and Pedestrian Overcrossing.
On September 15, 2020, the Council, by Resolution No. RES-2020-151, approved a cooperative agreement between Caltrans and the City of Santa Rosa for independent quality management assessment during the preparation of the project plans, specifications, and estimate for the improvements to the Highway 101 Bicycle and Pedestrian Overcrossing.
On April 27, 2021, the Council, by motion approved two resolution(s) to: 1) adopt California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Local Assistance Procedures Manual (LAPM) Chapter 10 policies and procedures for state and federal funded projects; and 2) approve a Professional Services Agreement (PSA) with BKF Engineers, of Santa Rosa, CA, to provide professional design and right of way services for the preliminary engineering (PE) phase of the Highway 101 Bicycle and Pedestrian Overcrossing Project, in the amount of $3,842,952.
On August 17, 2021, the Council, by Resolution No. RES-2021-146, authorized the filing of an application for grant funding through the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) Active Transportation Program and authorized $2.5M of Senate Bill 1 (SB1) funds and $550,000 of Transportation Development Act (TDA) funds to match federal funds being requested for construction.
On October 26, 2021, the Council, by Resolution No. RES-2021-180, authorized the filing of an application for MTC State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) funding in the amount of $3.4M for construction.
On April 26, 2022, the Council, by Resolution No. RES-2022-075, requested MTC allocate $600,000 of FY 22/23 TDA3 funds, increase appropriations by $600,000 of TDA3 funds, and authorize submittal of the project to the California Transportation Commission (CTC) in order to receive FY22/23 apportionment of SB1 funds in the amount of $3,914,094.
On August 9, 2022, the Council, by Resolution No. RES-2022-169, approved Cooperative Agreement Number 04-2837 between the State of California, acting through its Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and the City of Santa Rosa authorizing Caltrans to provide quality management assessment for right of way support, right of way acquisition, and utility relocation activities for the Project.
On April 11, 2023, the Council, by Resolution No. RES-2023-067, authorized submittal of the project to the California Transportation Commission (CTC) in order to receive FY23/24 apportionment of SB1 funds in the amount of $1,174,065.
On February 13, 2024, the Council, by Resolution No. RES-2024-023, approved Project Specific Maintenance Agreement Number TR04-22-HB15 between the State of California, acting through its Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and the City of Santa Rosa outlining the requirements and procedures for inspecting, evaluating, and maintaining the Project.
On April 9, 2024, the Council, by Resolution No. RES-2024-044, approved and delegated authority to the City Manager to negotiate and execute a First Amendment to Professional Services Agreement Number F002308 with BKF Engineers, of Santa Rosa, CA, for the Highway 101 Bicycle and Pedestrian Overcrossing Project to finalize bid documents, and provide additional studies and grant application support increasing the contract amount by $973,850 for a total amount not to exceed $4,816,802.
On February 25, 2025, the Council, by Resolution No. RES-2025-028, approved Cooperative Agreement Number 04-3020 between the State of California, acting through its Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and the City of Santa Rosa authorizing Caltrans to provide quality management assessment of the construction activities for the Highway 101 Bicycle and Pedestrian Overcrossing project and delegate authority to the City Manager to negotiate and execute the agreement.
ANALYSIS
The project will construct a bicycle and pedestrian shared-use overcrossing spanning U.S. 101 to connect Elliott Avenue to Edwards Avenue. The project is to be ADA compliant and focused on active transportation in the City of Santa Rosa.
The project was advertised on November 4, 2025 to 996 vendors on the PlanetBids portal, and bids were received on January 8, 2026. A total of five (5) bids were received ranging from $37,556,678.00 to $46,322,531.50. Gordon N. Ball, Inc. was the apparent low bidder, and its bid of $37,556,678.00 was 29.06% over the engineer’s estimate. Ghilotti Construction Company, Inc.’s bid of $37,574,978.70 was 29.12% above the engineer’s estimate. The City does not have time to reject all bids and rebid the Contract because the California Transportation Commission (“CTC”) administered construction funds must be awarded within six months of the August 14, 2025, CTC allocation.
While the proposed contract sum is significantly above the engineer’s estimate, TPW believes that funding used for this project will not negatively impact available funding for other CIP projects as programmed including funding for any future at grade crossing at Jennings Avenue. However, allocation of funding for this project reduces the availability of contingency funds for unexpected publics works needs.
On January 12, 2026, the City received Ghilotti Construction Company, Inc.’s bid protest of Gordon N. Ball, Inc.’s bid (Attachment 3). On January 14, 2026, the City received Gordon N. Ball, Inc.’s response to Ghilotti Construction Company, Inc.’s bid protest (Attachment 4). After conducting an in-depth bid analysis, the City determined that Gordon N. Ball, Inc.’s bid was non-responsive, making Ghilotti Construction Company, Inc.’s bid the lowest responsive bid.
The lowest responsive bidder, Ghilotti Construction Company, Inc., possesses a valid contractor’s license of the required class, as verified by the Contractor’s State License Board, and is registered with the State Department of Industrial Relations (DIR).
Construction is anticipated to begin approximately in March 2026. The length of the contract is 380 working days. Pending weather, the completion date is anticipated in the summer of 2027.
The Public Participation Plan has been approved by the Transportation and Public Works Marketing and Outreach Coordinator.
The project includes the City of Santa Rosa Community Workforce Agreement.
FISCAL IMPACT
Approval of this action does not have a fiscal impact on the General Fund. Capital Improvement Program budget funds for this phase were appropriated in the Fiscal Year 2025/2026. In addition the project includes:
$3,925,562 of Senate Bill 1 Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Program (SB 1 RMRP) grant funds were appropriated on April 26, 2022; $1,174,065 of Senate Bill 1 Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Program (SB 1 RMRP) grant funds were appropriated on April 11, 2023; $600,000 of Transportation Development Act Article III (TDA III) grant funds were appropriated on April 26, 2022; $12,000,000 of Active Transportation Program (ATP) federal grant funds were allocated by the California Transportation Commission (CTC) on August 14, 2025 and obligated by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on September 4, 2025; $1,292,000 of Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ) federal grant funds were obligated by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on September 4, 2025, and $10,600,000 of Regional Measure 3 (RM3) grant funds were allocated by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) on November 19, 2025.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), an Initial Study was performed for this project which resulted in the drafting and adoption of a Mitigated Negative Declaration by the lead environmental agency, Caltrans, in March 2021. A Categorical Exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was also certified for this project by Caltrans in March 2021. The recommended action to award Contract No. C00769, approve a construction contingency, and authorize the total contract amount is within the scope of the previously approved environmental documents and does not involve any changes to the project that would require additional environmental review under CEQA or NEPA.
BOARD/COMMISSION/COMMITTEE REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Not applicable.
NOTIFICATION
Not applicable.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Location Map
Attachment 2 – Summary of Bids
Attachment 3 – Bid Protest
Attachment 4 – Response to Bid Protest
Resolution
Presentation
PRESENTER(S)
Dan Hennessey, Director of Transportation and Public Works Lisa Welsh, Supervising Engineer
Jose Mederos, Assistant Engineer
CONTRACT AWARD FOR THE ROUTE 101 BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN OVERCROSSING (CML-5028(083)) PAGE 2 OF 3