Columbia Pike & Glebe Road

Status Report

Notes

February 14, 2003:

The sub-contractor for Virginia Power is currently on site and is installing the new poles to allow for relocation of the utilities. Weather permitting, this work is estimated to be completed by the end of March.

When Virginia Power is complete, Verizon and Comcast will begin their relocation work, which is estimated to be completed by mid-April.

Once all utility work is completed, the County will send certification to VDOT that all ROW has been acquired and that all utility work is completed. (Step 2b)

February 28, 2003:

Virginia Power subcontractor has installed the four poles on the Westmont property and has started installing the hardware. Two poles remain to be installed south of the Pike - one at Exxon and one at Rosenthal. The majority of the work is on the northeast corner of the intersection where the subcontractor will concentrate their work to free it up for the other utilities to come in and complete their work. Virginia Power will then begin the other work simultaneously at Exxon and Rosenthal while Comcast and Verizon are working.

Unfortunately, the subcontractor has lost some time because of the weather. These crews work to replace downed lines in bad weather so it is not surprising that they went to another site, perhaps to respond to emergency repair work. We will pressure them to keep on this job site.

March 14, 2003:

Virginia Power line transfer to the new poles is progressing, although they are behind schedule due to the snow. They estimate completion of with their work at the intersection on approximately March 28^th. Public Works is currently coordinating with Verizon and Comcast to clear their facilities from the poles that will be removed just as soon as Virginia Power work is completed.

Rosenthal and Exxon are in the process of removing their signs from the construction zone. Brown Nissan is also preparing to move their parking lot lights from the County's newly acquired right-of-way.

March 28, 2003:

All of the necessary right-of-way has been acquired and recorded. Staff is on schedule to send certification and plans to VDOT for their approval.

Virginia Power was scheduled to complete their work by March 28. However a potential issue arose regarding the possible need to install a new utility pole due to the weight of the electrical lines. Staff is working with the crews to resolve this issue should it become necessary. As a result, it appears that Virginia Power will miss their deadline. However, the project remains on schedule overall, with all utilities expected to be complete by the end of April.

Traffic engineering, Verizon, and Comcast will follow immediately behind Virginia Power, and all have been alerted that they need to move quickly within the next week or so.

Brown Nissan is currently reviewing cost estimates from contractors to relocate their lights and hopes to have them removed by April 15. Staff continues to work with Rosenthal to relocate their nine private parking lot lights. Rosenthal is scheduled to remove their sign by April 15.

April 11, 2003:

Utility clearing is on schedule. Virginia Power is expected to be completed by the today. Traffic Engineering was moving its telecommunications cable on Thursday, April 10th and, depending on Friday's weather, should complete their work. Comcast is scheduled to go to work after Traffic Engineering completed their work and is off the poles. Verizon will follow Comcast. Comcast said they needed only a few days so Verizon should be able to start work late during the week of April 14^th, depending on crew availability.

ROW is complete. Staff is assembling the expenses to submit to VDOT for reimbursement.

A Pre-Advertisement meeting is scheduled with VDOT for April 22 to review the plans for what they call 1st submission. VDOT has a checklist to make ensue all steps were followed. The VDOT Northern Virginia staff will do a thorough review of the plans to assure conformance with current standards. Staff will be contracting with the original engineering company to update the plans to respond to any VDOT comments quickly so the final plans can be forwarded to central office in Richmond for construction approval.

April 25, 2003:

Virginia Power is continuing their utility work. They experienced some delay when they encountered a concrete duct wall during their relocation work. They estimate completion within 2 weeks. Simultaneously, Comcast was completing their work, and anticipated completion on Friday.

DPW staff met with VDOT staff for the first submission meeting. It has been four years since the design plans for the intersection have been reviewed by VDOT. Therefore, VDOT is contemplating some additional reviews given various changes in their design and construction standards. Staff will stay on top of this and flag any potential problem areas.

May 9, 2003:

Utility Relocation - Comcast and Arlington County Traffic Engineering relocation work is complete. Virginia Power is scheduled to complete the relocation of their aerial electrical utilities on Friday, May 9th. Verizon is scheduled to begin the relocation of their facilities the week of May 12^th. This work will complete the utility clearing phase of the project. Utility relocation is anticipated to be completed by May 16th.

Plan Review - Northern Virginia VDOT staff is currently reviewing the construction drawings, bid plans, and estimates for review and comment. A First Submission Pre-Advertisement meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 20th to review their comments. Staff will review and amend the plans and bid documents as needed to respond to their comments and resubmit for approval. Any significant issues will be flagged to the community. Upon VDOT's acceptance of the re-submital, plans will be forwarded to VDOT in Richmond for review and approval.

May 23, 2003:

Utility clearance is essentially complete. Verizon has installed the relocated overhead telephone line to the new pole and installed the pedestal for splicing the new line to the building for service to Exxon and Midas. Conversion from the old to new service and removal of the old overhead line and utility pole, (previously scheduled for completion by 5/23), have slipped to the middle of the following week (5/28), Monday being a holiday. The County's correspondence to VDOT certifying that right of way acquisition and utility clearance is complete, prepared and ready for forwarding upon completion of the work.

VDOT held a Pre-Advertisement 1st Submission meeting with Arlington County DPW staff on 5/20 to review various VDOT No Va. District division comments (environmental, right of way, utilities, traffic engineering, construction, location and design and materials) related to the design drawings, construction phasing, bid specifications, and pedestrian safety. The majority of the comments were suggestions and can easily be incorporated into the design drawing sheets and the bid specifications. Staff is revising the intersection drawings to incorporate two pedestrian curb ramps per curb return to comply with current State standards, which will also require the realignment of the crosswalks, medians and drainage calculation adjustments before resubmission to VDOT for construction approval at the No. Va. District office.

June 6, 2003:

The Director of Public Works has certified to VDOT that right of way acquisition and utility relocation are complete. The drainage study VDOT has asked for was submitted and is under review. Staff is continuing to update the construction plans to address the other comments received from the Pre-Advertisement meeting.

July 11, 2002:

Subsequent to the comments staff received verbally from VDOT engineers at the Pre-Advertisement 1st Submission Meeting held on May 20^th, VDOT provided many more additional comments by correspondence on June 12^th. Additional DPW engineers and draftsman have been assigned to the project to update the plans. The most significant and substantial comments concerned the separation of the County funded utility underground ductbank work being shown on the VDOT funded plans. To address their concerns about conflicts between the state and County projects (construction conflicts and delays, funding sources), staff is separating the utility underground ductbank work to a separate construction project.

Staff is finalizing a Request for Bids for the construction of utility ductbank work at the intersection. We anticipate advertising the proposal mid-July with an award for construction in September. The utility ductbank work should precede the streetscape and street construction work to minimize costs and excavation of new pavement. Staff will continue to update the intersection plans addressing the remaining VDOT comments for a 2^nd resubmission.