REPORT TO GENERAL COMMITTEE

 

 

 

 

 

TO:

Mayor and Members of Council

 

 

FROM:

Alan Brown, Director of Engineering

 

 

PREPARED BY:

Lloyd Fernandes, Senior Capital Works Engineer

Allan Arbuckle, Manager of Infrastructure and Capital Works

 

 

DATE OF MEETING:

January 23 2006

 

 

SUBJECT:

Birchmount Road Extension - 14th Avenue to Enterprise Drive  -Project Update

 

 

 

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the report entitled “Birchmount Road Extension 14th Avenue to Enterprise Drive – Project Update” be received;

 

AND THAT the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to enter into agreements with Ministry of Transportation, 407ETR, CN, Hydro One, Ontario Realty Corporation, Ruland Properties Ltd  and other external agencies as may be required to implement the construction of the Birchmount Road extension, in a form satisfactory to the CAO and the Town Solicitor;

 

AND THAT the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to enter into agreements to acquire property required to implement the construction of the Birchmount extension, in a form satisfactory to the CAO and the Town Solicitor;

 

AND THAT in the event that there are any substantial financial or legal requirements arising from the above noted Agreements or property acquisitions, staff will report back to Council with recommendations for approval of these Agreements;

 

AND THAT in the event that staff are unable to come to an agreement with the property owners for the acquisition of the required lands, the Director of Engineering, in conjunction with the Town Solicitor, be authorized to apply for approval under the Municipal Act to expropriate a fee simple interest in the lands;

 

AND THAT staff report back to Council upon award of tender;

 

AND THAT staff be authorized to continue negotiations with Ruland Properties Ltd. to resolve outstanding issues regarding the detailed design and approval for the northerly section of Birchmount Road from Highway 407 north to Enterprise Drive;

 

AND THAT in the event that an acceptable arrangement for completion of the northerly section of the Birchmount Road extension cannot be reached with Ruland Properties Ltd. by February 28th 2006, staff be authorized to issue a purchase order to Totten Sims Hubicki to complete the detailed designs and approval submissions for an amount not to exceed $60,000 exclusive of GST ($ 64,200 inclusive of GST);

 

AND THAT staff be authorized to retain the law firm of Borden Ladner Gervais to assist in the acquisition of properties for an amount not to exceed $55,000 exclusive of GST ($58,850 inclusive of GST);

 

AND THAT staff be authorized to issue a purchase order to CN Rail for an amount not to exceed $75,000 exclusive of GST ($80,250 including GST) for the cost of CN Rail’s peer review of the bridge design and consulting engineering costs for the track diversion;

 

AND THAT staff be authorized to issue a purchase order to 407 ETR for an amount not to exceed $45,000 exclusive of GST ($48,150 including GST) for the cost of 407 ETR’s peer review of work proposed within the highway-right-of-way;

 

AND THAT staff be authorized to retain a qualified legal surveying firm to prepare the necessary property acquisition plans for an amount not to exceed $50,000 exclusive of GST ($53,500 inclusive of GST);

 

AND THAT the Engineering Departments 2006 Capital Budget be amended to add $226,000 for the Birchmount Road extension to be funded by the Town Wide Hard Development Charges;

 

AND THAT THE Finance and Engineering Departments report back to Council on the impact of this project and other Engineering capital projects funded from Development Charges on projected debt financing requirements;

 

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to update Council on the current status of the Birchmount Road extension project, to obtain authorization to enter into Agreements with external agencies and to acquire properties required to implement the project.

 

BACKGROUND:

Birchmount Road is a four lane major collector roadway which currently ends at 14th Avenue. The road continues north from 14th Avenue as Teckbridge Drive terminating at Royal Crest Court. The Transportation Study prepared for the Markham Centre Secondary Plan recommended that Birchmount Road be extended to provide a continuous mid-block collector between 14th Avenue and Highway 7.

 

 In 1996, an Environmental Study Report was undertaken by the Town to examine alternative methods of completing the Birchmount Road extension and to select a preferred design option. This preferred design option included the construction of two underpass structures at Highway 407 and an underpass structure crossing the CNR rail line. The installation of the two Highway 407 structures was subsequently completed in 1997 as a part of the highway construction contract.

 

In June of 2004, the Town retained the consulting firm of Totten Sims Hubicki Limited to prepare the detailed design for the Birchmount Road extension from 14th Avenue to the southerly limit of the Remington Group’s Markham Centre lands at Highway 407. The design for this section of roadway has now been completed and staff is currently in the process of obtaining approvals, negotiating agreements and acquiring the property necessary to construct this portion of the project.

 

Preliminary designs for the 300 metre section of Birchmount Road from Highway 407 north to Enterprise Drive have been prepared by consultants retained by Ruland Properties Ltd.  However, the detailed design and approvals of this northerly section of roadway have not advanced to the same extent as the southerly section and a number of issues remain unresolved for this section of the project.

 

DISCUSSION:

The project involves the extension of Birchmount Road Drive from its current termination at 14th Avenue northerly to Enterprise Drive. The major items of work include;

 

·            The construction of 900 meters of new four-lane collector road from Royal Crest to Enterprise Drive.

·            The reconstruction of 500 metres of existing roadway from 14th Avenue to Royal Crest Drive.

·            The relocation and upgrading of the existing Concanmar stormwater management pond to provide quantity and quality control.

·            The construction of a new underpass structure and associated retaining walls at the CN Rail line.

·            Minor modifications to the existing Highway 407 underpass structures to accommodate the road construction.

·            Construction of underground services including storm sewers, sanitary sewer, watermains and utilities.

·            Construction of district heating and cooling systems from the heating and cooling station from Enterprise Road to the future generation plant in ORC lands.

·            Modifications to the existing intersection of 14th Avenue and Birchmount Road.

 

Project Coordination

It was initially assumed that the northerly portion of the Birchmount Road extension, from Highway 407 to Enterprise Drive, would be constructed by Ruland Properties Ltd as a part of the second phase of the Markham Downtown development which was originally scheduled to coincide with the Town’s construction of the Highway 407 to 14th Avenue portion of the road. The two sections of the Birchmount extension must be constructed at the same time to accommodate stormwater drainage and to allow connection of the underground services including storm sewers, sanitary sewers, watermains and utilities such as gas, telecommunications and Markham District Heating systems. In addition, several aspects of the southerly road design can not be finalized until designs for the northerly section are completed and a number of approving agencies including TRCA, MTO and 407 ETR are requiring a coordinated approval for both sections of road.

 

With the anticipated delay in the development of the second phase of the Markham Downtown project due to servicing allocation restrictions, the detailed design and approvals of the northerly section of Birchmount by the developer have not progressed significantly beyond the preliminary phase and the approval and construction schedule for the entire project is now in jeopardy of being delayed. Discussions have been ongoing with Ruland Properties Ltd and their consultants for a number of months in an attempt to expedite work on this northern section and staff is recommending that these discussions continue. In the event that an agreement that a firm commitment to deliver the completed detailed designs and approvals within an acceptable timeframe cannot be reached by the end of February of this year, staff are recommending that the Town assume responsibility for completing the detailed design, securing the approvals and constructing the northerly section of the road and the Town’s consultant, Totten Sims Hubicki, be retained to carry out this work.

 

Agreements:

Agreements to permit construction of the Birchmount Road extension are required from a number of agencies including CN Rail, 407 ETR, Ministry of Transportation, Ontario Realty Corporation and Hydro One. An Agreement will also be required with the Remington Group to permit construction of the section of roadway crossing the Markham Downtown lands. Discussions to finalize these agreements are ongoing and staff is requesting that the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to execute these agreements subject to the approval of the CAO and Town Solicitor. In addition to the specific agreements which are described in the preceding paragraph, there may be agreements which will be required by other agencies in order to proceed with the construction of the project. While the need for any other agreements has not been identified to date, additional agreement requirements may arise as conditions of securing the required approvals for the project. Staff is therefore requesting that the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to execute any other agreements which may be required to implement the construction of this project subject to the satisfaction of the CAO and Town Solicitor.   Staff will update Council on any substantial conditions or financial obligations arising out of these agreements for their approval.

 

Property Acquisition

A total of 13 property acquisitions easements are required in order to construct the Birchmount Road extension. While the majority of these acquisitions are minor widenings or easements along the existing section of roadway between 14th Avenue and Royal Crest Drive, two significant acquisitions have been identified;

·        Permanent and temporary easements over approximately 11.6 acres of land owned by the Ontario Realty Corporation located between the CN rail line and Highway 407. These easements are required to construct the roadway and stormwater management pond.

·        Acquisition of approximately 2 acres of road right-of-way from Ruland Properties Ltd  for the section of road between Highway 407 and Enterprise Drive which staff anticipate will be acquired on the basis of providing a development charge credit for the land area in excess of the local road requirements.

 

Preliminary negotiations have taken place with all land owners from whom property will be required and appraisals have been completed to establish the value of the proposed property takings. While the appraised value of the majority of the required acquisitions are in the $10,000 to $100,000 range, the easements required from ORC are valued by ORC at approximately $2.3 million or approximately 85% of the total cost of property acquisitions. Staff does not agree with this ORC valuation given the restricted use of the lands and are continuing to negotiate with ORC to resolve the matter.

 

Staff will update Council on any substantial financial obligations arising from the property acquisitions for their approval. In the event that staff is unable to negotiate acceptable terms and conditions for these Agreements and acquisitions, staff will advise Council and request that senior level meetings be arranged to assist in resolving these issues.

 

Approvals

The Birchmount Road extension project is the most complex of the grade separation projects to be constructed in Markham with a substantial number of challenging technical and project management issues that require input and approvals from a large number of external agencies including;

 

Agency

Approvals Required

Toronto & Region Conservation Authority

- stormwater management & drainage works including Concanmar pond relocation and upgrades,

- Rouge River tributary relocation and storm sewer outlets.

407 ETR

- all construction adjacent to and crossing   

   Highway 407 right-of-way

Ministry of Transportation

(Corridor Management Office)

- all construction adjacent to and crossing   

   Highway 407 right-of-way

Ministry of Transportation

(Transit System Planning Office)

- all construction of adjacent to and crossing   

   future inter-urban transit corridor

Ministry of Municipal Affairs & Housing

-  all construction within Parkway Belt West

    Plan

Hydro One

 -  all construction crossing hydro tower

     lines

CN Rail

-      construction of underpass structure and rail 

    detour

Ministry of the Environment

-      stormwater management, sewer and watermain works

Trans Canada Pipelines

-  all construction crossing utility corridor

Powerstream

-  all construction crossing utility corridor

Region of York

-  reconstruction of 14th Avenue intersection

 

Project Schedule:

With the completion of the detailed design work in 2005, efforts in 2006 will be focused on obtaining approvals and negotiating agreements. The current schedule for the project is:

·            Agency approvals received – July 2006

·            Agreements and property acquisition complete – October 2006

·            Construction contract tender call – December 2006

·            Construction contract award – February 2007

·            Construction start – spring 2007

·            Construction complete – fall 2008/spring 2009

 

This schedule is dependent on the ability to coordinate the design and approval of the northerly section of the roadway, on receiving timely responses from external agencies and the acquisition of the required properties.

 

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

The current estimated cost for this project including the property acquisition costs is as follows:

 

Item

Cost excluding GST

Construction Cost        

$14,700,000

Utility relocations

$750,000

Professional Fees incl. design, construction inspection & contract administration fees

$1,420,000

Property Acquisition

$3,300,000

Engineering Department Project Management Fee @ 3 %

$605,000

Total Estimated Project Cost

$20,775,000

 

The approved 2004/2005 Capital Budget (Project 6114 and 6741) has $485,900 and $428,100 approved (total $914,000) for detailed design, approvals and property acquisition.  Based on recent cash flow updates an additional $226,000 is required in the Engineering Department 2006 Capital Budget to meet projected needs.

 

The project is funded entirely from Town Wide Development Charges and is included in the existing Development Charge Bylaws in the amount of $11.1 million. The additional required funding is estimated as approximately $9.6 million and is a result of increases in the estimated cost of the following major items;

  • Property acquisition ($3.0 million increase)
  • Concanmar pond relocation & retrofitting ($1.1 million increase)
  • CN structure including rail diversion ($1.8 million increase)
  • Road construction ($1.9 million increase)
  • Additional servicing costs ($0.8 million increase)
  • Utility relocation ($0.6 million increase)
  • Additional fees ($0.2 million)

The additional funding requirements will be included in the updated Development Charge Background Study proposed to be undertaken in 2006. 

 

Staff will be report to Council regarding the distribution of servicing allocation within Markham Centre.  As a condition of the allocation the developers may be requested, arranging other matters, to address the front end financing of road infrastructure in Markham Centre, which could include all or part of Birchmount Road.

 

The Finance and the Engineering Departments will report back to Council on the impact of this project and other Engineering capital projects funded from Development Charges on projected debt financing requirements.

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

The Finance Department has reviewed this report and their comments have been included.

 

ATTACHMENTS:

Attachment “A” – project location

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alan Brown, C.E.T.

Director of Engineering

 

Jim Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.

Commissioner of Development Services