South College Avenue Reconstruction Phase 1

The project is currently in construction, and is 66% complete by Contract Valve and approximately 33% complete overall.

In the past three months, approximately 1,500 linear feet of roadway has been completed and is now fully drivable.

·         November 4, 2024: Opening from Villa Maria Road to Dellwood Street.

·         November 15, 2024: Opening from Dellwood Street to approximately 100 feet north of Edge Street.

·         November 22, 2024: Opening from 100 feet north of Edge Street to 100 feet south of Bizzell Street, including the Rountree Drive intersection.

·         December 20, 2024: Opening from 100 feet south of Bizzell Street to 150 feet north of Bizzell Street was completed and opened.

These openings mark critical progress in providing improved accessibility and traffic flow along the corridor.

 Upcoming Work

In January, the City of Bryan is looking forward to significant progress from Larry Young Paving (LYP). The city anticipates that LYP will continue work on South College Avenue to open another 800 feet of roadway, just short of the Hollydale/Williamson Roundabout. Simultaneously, between Carson Street and Hollydale Street, LYP will be installing storm sewer boxes in preparation for connecting the storm sewer system. Finally, weather permitting, LYP will begin work on the Hollydale/Williamson Roundabout.

 The City of Bryan will continue to oversee and coordinate with LYP to ensure the project progresses and a high-quality product is delivered. However, the timing and execution of tasks remain under Larry Young Paving’s management.

Prioritizing Roadway Opening

The City of Bryan’s priority is to open the roadway as soon as possible to improve traffic flow and accessibility. As we continue to open sections of the roadway, some sidewalks and shared-use paths may still be under construction. Consequently, Larry Young Paving (LYP) may be working on sidewalk construction and other tasks concurrently while the roadway remains open. We appreciate your understanding as we balance these efforts to minimize disruptions.

For additional information, please see the posted monthly update letters on the main website.

Overall completion of the project is estimated to be in Summer 2025.

Why is progress reported in % Complete by Contract Value and not % Complete by Schedule?

We use Percent (%) Complete by Contract Value (PCCV) because it provides a more consistent measurement across different stages of construction and the overall project. PCCV integrates Earned Value Management (EVM) practices and ensures that the work completed accurately reflects the money spent rather than how far into the schedule we are. Ideally, project completeness could be estimated by comparing days completed to the overall project schedule. However, in practice, construction is not a linear process and some tasks are disproportionate to the overall work.

For example, different phases of the project may require varying amounts of time due to unforeseen site conditions, task complexity, varying work efforts, and potential delays. Consider a building with a 12-month construction contract duration. At the 6-month mark, due to delays in site preparation and foundation work, the project has only just started superstructure construction. According to the schedule, 50% of the project contract time has elapsed, which can mislead one to assume that 50% of the work is done. However, this does not reflect the delays and additional time needed to complete the remaining work. In reality, only 25% of the work may be complete while 50% of the contract time has been used.

Additionally, when using PCCV, one should be careful to avoid assuming that costs are proportionate to the overall project completeness.

Given the general complexity of Capital Improvement Projects (CIPs), which often involve decades long master planning, unforeseen site conditions, and coordination between numerous regulatory and private entities, delays in project progress are always possible. This has certainly been the case with the South College Avenue Reconstruction Phase 1 project. For context, we’ve provided a brief description of the major delays below.

Telecoms Relocations

• Before the city’s contractor began construction on the project, it was necessary for the telecommunication providers, Optimum and Frontier, to relocate their overhead utilities underground along the corridor. However, after construction began, it was discovered that the relocated utilities were not in the correct location and conflicted with a proposed storm sewer that could not be adjusted. To address this, both utilities were asked to relocate once more. We appreciate their efforts in helping us resolve this matter.
• To maintain progress while the main construction was halted, the city's contractor continued work on secondary items such as installing new underground utilities along South College Avenue.
• Although the city's contractor was able to proceed with some construction activities, the delay in storm sewer installation significantly impacted the project timeline and became the critical path. The total estimated delay in the project due to telecom relocations is eight months.

Redesign to Remove Medians

• After receiving public feedback on other median projects in the area, the City Council began workshop discussions in late 2023 to consider removing medians from the South College Avenue project. In February 2024, after coordinating with the design engineer, Engineering Services presented design options for removing the medians, and the City Council provided official direction to remove the medians from the project. The redesign of the roadway cross-section required a temporary halt in construction while the design consultant modified the roadway plans and a change order was issued to adjust construction quantities. The total estimated delay in the project due to the median redesign is four months.

We appreciate your patience throughout this process. Despite these challenges, we remain committed to delivering safer vehicular and pedestrian routes, improved accessibility to Midtown Park and Downtown Bryan, and enhanced aesthetics along this important and culturally significant corridor. Your understanding and cooperation are invaluable as we work towards these improvements.