Cost estimate for Fulton tunnel project skyrockets 47%

Stark Parks is proceeding with plans to build a tunnel below Fulton Drive NW even though inflation may cause costs to spiral well above the prior estimate.

But it's not yet clear if Stark Parks' partners on the project, the Jackson Local School District and Jackson Township trustees will approve contributing more money.

The Stark County Park District board, in a special meeting Wednesday afternoon, unanimously approved significantly increasing how much money it is allocating for the project — which now could cost a total of $2.08 million for construction and inspection, an overall increase of nearly 26% from the prior estimate.

The 95-foot-long tunnel will allow pedestrians to cross under the road that separates Jackson High School and Jackson Township's North Park. The tunnel is expected to significantly reduce the risk of a vehicle hitting a pedestrian crossing the street. And the tunnel would serve as a key link in Stark Park's Jackson Connector Trail.

More: Tunnel under Fulton will connect Jackson High School to North Park

More: Bob Fonte to retire as director of Stark Parks

Sarah Buell, the district's projects manager, told the Stark Parks board that the Ohio Department of Transportation, which is managing the tunnel project, had increased the amount the park district, Jackson Township and Jackson Schools have to contribute to proceed to bid.

'So the costs are just out of control right now.'

The three partners had anticipated their total share of construction and inspection to be $898,056, an estimate calculated by project consultant MS Consultants.

ODOT, citing increases in the cost of paint, steel and concrete, has raised that estimate of the local share cost by more than 47% to $1.33 million, Buell said. That means the cost for each of the partners would be $441,812 rather than just under $300,000. The $441,812 is beyond the upper limit of $400,000 that each entity had allocated earlier for their shares of the total cost including design, engineering and utility relocation.

"So the costs are just out of control right now," Buell said. "It's crazy."

A $758,956 federally-funded transportation alternatives grant from the Stark County Area Transportation Study (SCATS) is set to cover part of the construction cost.

Buell told the park board, "I've talked both with the assistant superintendent at Jackson Local (Schools) and with (Jackson Township Fiscal Officer) Randy Gonzalez over at Jackson Township and both seem amenable to moving forward. They're presenting it to their boards (the school board and the township trustees) as well. We've just got a very short time frame to be able to respond (to ODOT). So it looks like they (Jackson schools and Jackson Township) will support it. Of course the resolution is contingent upon their commitment of supporting it."

The resolution approved by the Stark Parks board Wednesday says Stark Parks' upfront payment of $1.33 milliion to ODOT is "pending approval by the Jackson Township trustees and the Board of Education of the Jackson Local School District for a funding commitment of" $441,812 each.

Stark Parks Director Bob Fonte said Thursday that ODOT had informed Stark Parks of the higher cost estimate late last week and asked for a commitment to pay the higher amount by Friday.

ODOT District 4 spokesman Justin Chesnic said that the conditional commitment by Stark Parks Wednesday would allow the project to proceed for now. Contractors have until the bid date of March 17 to submit their bids to do the work. ODOT plans to announce which contractor has won the work on March 28.

But Chesnic said ODOT must receive the total outstanding project funds in accordance with the the most current cost estimate from the local entities by March 3 or ODOT would have to delay the bid date.

A delay could affect the project being completed on schedule by August before the start of the school year for Jackson High.

Fonte said Stark Parks would not front any of the $1.33 million until Jackson Township trustees and Jackson Local School District board agree to reimburse Stark Parks for the additional cost.

The school board is next set to meet Feb. 22. But it could schedule a special meeting for before then. The Jackson trustees are next set to meet Tuesday.

Jackson Local Schools Superintendent Chris DiLoreto issued this statement Thursday:

“We recently became aware of the additional cost of the tunnel project. We will have to evaluate the cost and our options compared to other capital projects in our district. We will continue to collaboratively work to find creative ways to fund our portion of this project."

Fonte in a text message wrote that the park district and its partners should proceed despite the significantly higher cost because the tunnel improved the area's safety. He wrote that the partners had already spent money on a design for the tunnel, about $200,000 and on relocating utility lines for the project, more than $100,000.

Messages seeking comment were left for Gonzalez and Todd Hawke, the chairman of the board of Jackson Township trustees.

Bidding process

Buell said that if a contractor submits a winning bid for the work lower than the estimate, the three partners would get part of their money back.

But if all the bids exceed the estimate by more than 10%, Stark Parks could reject all of the bids and put it out for bid again. But that could delay the project.

Stark Parks officials asked members of SCATS' Technical Advisory Committee at their Thursday meeting to support additional SCATS federal funding for the Fulton tunnel project.

With ODOT not requiring payment until March 3, the committee voted to table the issue until late next month when SCATS' Policy Committee will meet on Feb. 28.

SCATS Technical Director Jeff Dotson said SCATS had already contributed a significant amount of funding to the project. The committee members want to see if Stark Parks gets a $500,000 Clean Ohio Trails Fund grant to help cover the tunnel project cost. Dotson said SCATS has only about $51,000 in federal dollars remaining through June 30 in the Transportation Alternatives program.

Reach Robert at (330) 580-8327 or robert.wang@cantonrep.com. Twitter: @rwangREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Officials proceed with Fulton tunnel project despite price hike