Council committee advances engineering services agreement for Pufferbelly pedestrian bridge

The Public Works Committee on Wednesday voted 7–0 to advance an ordinance approving a professional services agreement with Engineering Resources Incorporated to provide construction management, inspection and testing for the Pufferbelly pedestrian bridge over Coliseum Boulevard.

Dawn Ritchie, the city’s Greenways and Trails manager, told the committee the work order covers construction management services for the Van Family Crossing (the pedestrian bridge that will carry the Pufferbelly Trail over Coliseum Boulevard) and is capped at $557,700. She said the city followed a competitive sealed-proposal process, received six qualifications submissions and narrowed those to two firms before selecting Engineering Resources as the lowest-fee proposer and the original designer of the bridge.

"They were the firm that designed this bridge, so it’s a good thing to have the same firm that's inspecting it because they know the design as well as anybody," Ritchie said.

Ritchie told members the city expects to advertise for bids at the end of the month, open bids on Aug. 20, return to council with bid results in mid-September and, if approved, issue an order to proceed with construction beginning in October and completion by the end of 2027.

Council members noted that the Vann Family Foundation has provided a $5,000,000 grant toward the project, reducing the city’s required match. "Jim Vann and the Vann Family Foundation, as you all know, provided...a $5,000,000 grant for this pedestrian bridge," Ritchie said.

After discussion of the procurement and schedule, Councilwoman Chambers moved to pass the committee recommendation; a second was recorded and the measure advanced with a 7–0 committee vote.

The committee’s recommendation is not the final council approval; the full council is scheduled to consider contract awards and construction authorization later in the process after bid results are returned.