By Jondi Gumz
First, the good news: On Aug. 5, the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission approved a bid to repair the fence and railing for Santa Cruz rail line bridge that crosses Highway 1 in Aptos, damaged by a tree that fell during the historic 2017 winter storms.
The job went to Watsonville-based Granite Rock, which bid $195,841.
Now the bad news: The repair work will require the closure of Highway 1 — so no date has been set.
Thousands of drivers see it daily, the metal fence bent over the northbound lane of Highway 1 south of the State Park Drive exit.
The repair work was approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which had staff inspect the site.
Caltrans issued a permit in April 2020, and the project estimated to cost $158,891.
However, when the project was advertised in May 2020, only one bid came in — for $297,190, according to RTC engineer Sarah Christensen.
That bid was rejected by the RTC Commission and the project “re-packaged” with a more cost-effective design, and a new cost estimate of $140,000.
Caltrans approved the changes in May 2021.
When the revamped project was advertised, two “complete and responsive” bids came in, with Granite Rock the lower of the two.
Industrial Railways Co., a railroad contractor in Benicia, bid $350,000.
Installation and clearing of vegetation came in higher than projected, and Christensen indicated in her report that may be because the work “must be completed at night in an expedited fashion during a freeway closure.”
The RTC budgeted $640,000 for storm repairs in 2021-22, providing upfront funding for the project, and then will seek disaster relief reimbursement from FEMA and the state Office of Emergency Services.