City Council approves changes to ADA project

The actual news hook is that, in the consent agenda, the city council on March 25 approved $75,000 worth of changes to a bid for work that is largely being paid for by the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC).

Of greater interest is probably the news that some major changes are coming soon the the intersection of Buchanan and Elm to put the corner into compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act, or ADA.

This project will consist of curb extensions, new ADA sidewalk ramps, new pedestrian-activated rapid flashing beacons, bike ramps, new signs and crosswalk markings.

The project was originally put out to bid in the last days of January, and four weeks later, four bids had come in. The lowest was from a company well known to Boulder City residents for all the other work they do in town, Las Vegas Paving. The bid was for $527,000.

However, after accepting the bid, according to a city report, city staff came to the realization that the bid was still over budget by almost $76,000.

That was the change that was voted on. (A reminder: The consent agenda consists of items considered to be routine and therefore undeserving of time for discussion. Depending on the week in question, there can be anywhere from one or two things to a dozen on the consent agenda.) In what is known as a change order, Las Vegas Paving and the city mutually agreed to change the previous contract to get the total into budget. More than half of the $75,000 change appears to be related to labor and is labeled as “Extra and Force Account Work.”

Of the total cost, $350,000 is coming from the RTC. The funds are coming from the RTC’s Complete Streets Fund for Fiscal Year 2025, which ends on June 30.

Now that the contract and changes are finalized and the project is within budget, the project is anticipated to be completed in 60 days.