By Kellen Olshefski
Correspondent
The City of Elkhorn Common Council recently voted unanimously in favor of a task order that will pay for the engineering services to finish the second half of West Court Street in 2021.
The task order calls for an additional $49,856 to cover engineering services throughout the duration of the project, which is expected to resume in mid-March and be completed by May 29.
With the project taking slightly longer than anticipated last year, the council opted to finish up the first half before the winter to avoid residents having to drive on snow-covered rubble, with contractors returning to finish the second half this spring.
City engineer Mike Timmers said during the Elkhorn Finance and Judicial Committee meeting prior to the council meeting that the original contract for engineering covered expenses through mid-September to October of 2020, when the full project was originally expected to be completed.
City Administrator James Heilman said that Kapur and Associates will now need to provide additional engineering services that were outside of the scope of the original contract, leading to the additional cost.
“There was no savings in splitting it, and we don’t want to do that ever, but then again, we don’t want to just move forward for the sake of it,” Heilman said. “So, that was the decision that was made, that it was better to stop when we did.”
While design aspects of the project are already completed, Heilman explained that the additional funds would cover the additional engineering management costs for ensuring the project continues as planned.
“They’re there to make sure everything gets done right,” Heilman said. “It’s not their fault. It’s not the contractor’s fault. The project got off a little later than we would have probably liked.”
Timmers said the original engineering costs were budgeted for the time the project was expected to take. However, with added work such as sanitary sewer, water mains and undercutting of streets, the project was extended beyond that originally expected time length.
According to Timmers, while the project was originally expected to be completed by October it extended into November and then into 2021.
“So, it’s for us to be out there for that time in addition to the other time needed to finish the project,” Timmers said.
The council voted 6-0 in favor of approving the task order.
