cover
TO: Mayor John Laesch and City Council
FROM: Tim Weidner, P.E., Engineering Coordinator
DATE: May 15, 2025
SUBJECT:
A Resolution approving the IDOT low bid award for Construction for the North Aurora Road Underpass at the CN Railroad.
PURPOSE:
To obtain Council approval for a Resolution approving the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) low bid award for Construction for the North Aurora Road Underpass at the CN Railroad. This is a requirement for the local agencies to complete and the City of Naperville is planning on passing a similar resolution at their 5/20/2025 City Council meeting..
BACKGROUND:
The project is a joint multi-jurisdictional project with the City of Aurora, City of Naperville, and Naperville Township Road District to improve the regional transportation network. The City of Naperville is the lead on this project.
This is an ongoing project that began in 2006 with Phase 1 preliminary engineering. The original IGA was approved by City Council in 2006 (R06-168). Phase 1 was completed and accepted by IDOT in 2016. In 2015, Council approved the First Amendment to the IGA that covered the land acquisition for the project, which is being called "Phase II" of the project (R15-069). In 2017, Council approved the Second Amendment to the IGA that covered the design engineering and stormwater management fees, which is being called "Phase III" of the project (R17-067). In 2021, Council approved the Third Amendment to the IGA that covered
additional costs needed to complete the "Phase II" and "Phase III" portions of the project (R21-163). The additional costs in 2021 included a design engineering supplement (including additional land acquisition services), utility relocation design engineering, and additional land acquisition costs. In 2022, Council approved the Fourth Amendment to the IGA that covered additional costs needed to complete the "Phase II" and "Phase III" portions of the project (R22-304). In 2024, the Council approved the Fifth Amendment to the IGA to cover the final "Phase IV" portions of the project including Construction, Construction Engineering and Utility Relocation along with some additional funds to finalize "Phase II" and "Phase III" of the project (R24-016). This Fifth amendment committed the City to budgeting our local share for the Construction and Construction Engineering portion of the project and officially moved forward the final phase of this project.
Currently the project has been programmed for $15M in Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) and $25M in Surface Transportation Project - Shared Fund (STP-SF) federal funds. A total of $40,000,000.00 in state and federal funds. The project team continues to look for additional funding opportunities for all aspects of the project.
DISCUSSION:
In an attempt to make the Fifth Amendment a final and all-encompassing IGA, Naperville proposed the creation of a NAR Project Team with representatives from the Township, Aurora and Naperville. As agreements are drafted with the railroads and utility companies the NAR Project Team would review them, and once all team members agree that an agreement is in order, the chief executives of each agency sign the agreements. This IGA delegates the authority to sign those documents to the chief executives, removing the need to go back to City Council to sign those individual agreements. However, if the agreements will cause the local agency to exceed the obligation as described in that resolution, additional City Council action would be required. Per the Fifth Amendment IGA, the City's estimated local obligation was $3,136,378 for the remainder of the project, which included a 15% contingency. That would be paid out over a four (4) year period in 2024, 2025, 2026 and 2027. The CIP# is GB017 (North Aurora Road Underpass) and Motor Fuel Tax (MFT) funds were allocated for the project in account 203-4060-431.76-66.
The project was let by IDOT on April, 25, 2025. There were four bidders, and the low bid was read as $33,197,029.63. This amount is significantly higher than the Engineer's Estimate ($25,534,818.55), and requires Council action to recommend awarding of the project with IDOT and to move the project forward. Exhibit 'A' provides analysis on potential reasons for why there is a significant difference based on the limited amount of information the team received from IDOT.
Additional funding is being sought from a variety of sources including additional ICC funding, additional STP funding, and potential funding from the CN Railroad. Due to the timing of when the funds may be received, the City will need to prepare for and approve the worst case scenario.
If the City chooses to concur in the award, the final Aurora local share will be dependent on how much additional outside funding is received. It is possible that the City’s share could decrease below what has previously been approved. However, in the resolution the City would need to state that the City’s local share could be upwards of $6,943,654 (which is an increase of $3,807,276 above the $3,136,378 amount in the latest IGA). Based on discussions with Naperville, Naperville is amenable to keeping the payment plan values the same through 2027 as shown in the latest IGA, and extending out any additional payments further into the future.
The three entities on the project will work towards a new IGA to further describe the details, if the project is awarded. That IGA will be presented to City Council at a future date, as well as a MFT resolution to approve any additional cost.
IMPACT STATEMENT:
A detour will be required for a portion of the project. The timing of the detour is unknown and will depend on when the project is awarded and utility companies are given notice to proceed.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Please forward this resolution to the Finance Committee for their review and recommendation.
cc: Finance Committee
CITY OF AURORA, ILLINOIS
RESOLUTION NO. _________
DATE OF PASSAGE ________________
title
A Resolution approving the IDOT low bid award for Construction for the North Aurora Road Underpass at the CN Railroad.
body
WHEREAS, the City of Aurora has a population of more than 25,000 persons and is, therefore, a home rule unit under subsection (a) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution of 1970; and
WHEREAS, subject to said Section, a home rule unit may exercise any power and perform any function pertaining to its government and affairs for the protection of the public health, safety, morals, and welfare; and
WHEREAS, in 2006 the City of Naperville, the City of Aurora, and Naperville Township entered into an intergovernmental agreement which has been amended by the First through Fifth Amendments thereto to move forward with various phases of the NAR Project (together referenced herein as the “NAR IGA”) to “Replace and Widen the Existing Highway Underpass on North Aurora Road at the Elgin, Joliet, & Eastern Railway Company’s Railway Company’s Railroad Crossing” (the “North Aurora Road Widening Project” or “NAR Project”); and
WHEREAS, the City of Naperville is the Lead Local Agency for the NAR Project; and
WHEREAS, to date the City of Naperville, the City of Aurora, and Naperville Township have spent approximately six million, five hundred thousand dollars ($6,500,000) on the NAR Project for easements, land acquisition, preliminary and design engineering, environmental services, and utility coordination; and
WHEREAS, in addition to the local funding described above, the NAR Project is supported by forty million dollars ($40,000,000) of external funding. CMAP has committed twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) of STP Shared Funding for the NAR Project and IDOT has committed fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) for the NAR Project through the Grade Crossing Protection Fund. If these funds are not used, they become eligible for redistribution to other projects. There is no guarantee that this amount of external funding for the NAR Project will be available in the future; and
WHEREAS, on April 25, 2025 IDOT bids for the NAR Project came in $7,400,000 higher than the estimated “Contract Estimate of Cost” for the general contractor for the NAR Project (the “IDOT NAR Low Bid”); and
WHEREAS, in order to defray the gap in the cost between the “Contract Estimate of Cost” for the general contractor for the NAR Project and the actual IDOT NAR Low Bid cost, (the “IDOT NAR Low Bid Funding Gap”), the City of Naperville is in the process of seeking additional funding as follows: (i) five million dollars ($5,000,000) through CMAP; (ii) additional funding from GCPF; and (iii) funding from Wisconsin Central Ltd.; and
WHEREAS, some or all of the additional NAR Project costs resulting from the IDOT NAR Low Bid Funding Gap may be funded by additional external funding resources as described in the Recital above; and
WHEREAS, depending on the extent of additional funding obtained for the NAR Project, the IDOT NAR Low Bid Funding Gap could result in the Local Share Funding for the City of Naperville being between $2,688,654 and $6,943,654, including a fifteen percent contingency; and
WHEREAS, depending on the extent of additional funding obtained for the NAR Project, the IDOT NAR Low Bid Funding Gap could result in the Local Share Funding for the City of Aurora being between $2,688,654 and $6,943,654, including a fifteen percent contingency; and
WHEREAS, the IDOT NAR Low Bid Funding Gap will not impact Naperville Township’s financial obligations for the NAR Project as set forth in the NAR IGA since Naperville Township’s maximum contribution to the NAR Project cost is defined in Section 3.1.3 of the Fifth Amendment to the NAR IGA; and
WHEREAS, in order to move forward with the PROJECT, the City of Naperville and the City of Aurora must be willing to: (i) accept the IDOT NAR Low Bid of $33,197,029.63 (which includes the $7,400,000 of unanticipated costs); and (ii) share equally in the payment of the IDOT NAR Low Bid costs to the extent that those costs are not covered by other funding sources. Since Naperville Township will not be impacted by an obligation to contribute to the IDOT NAR Low Bid Funding Gap, their approval of the IDOT NAR Low Bid is not required; and
WHEREAS, the City of Naperville, the City of Aurora, and Naperville Township will work towards entering into a Sixth Amendment to the intergovernmental agreement. The Aurora maximum cumulative pavements as specified in Section 3.3 (Project Payments) for the years 2024, 2025 and 2026 will not change. Any additional local funding share from Aurora will take place in additional years starting in 2027.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Aurora, Illinois, as follows: subject to approval by the City of Naperville to accept the IDOT NAR Low Bid of $33,197,029.63 and to share equally with the City of Aurora in the payment of the IDOT NAR Low Bid Funding Gap to the extent that those costs are not covered by other funding sources, the City of Aurora hereby agrees to accept the IDOT NAR Low Bid of $33,197,029.63 and to share equally with the City of Naperville in the payment of the IDOT NAR Low Bid Funding Gap to the extent that those costs are not covered by other funding sources.