Equipment problems delay traffic signal synchronization

City of Menifee staff has received approval to pay a contractor additional costs for the latest of three attempts to complete a traffic signal interconnect system. While the contractor continues to make adjustments to the system, the City will try to recover the extra cost.

The system, which would synchronize signals along busy Newport Road and locations west of the 215 Freeway through wireless communication devices, was designed and installed by Elecnor Belco Electric, Inc. beginning in August 2020. The original construction budget was $554,102, according to City documents. That included an approved contingency amount of $41,270 to account for possible increases in cost.

Since then, the contractor has come back to the City three times with bills for extra costs, necessitating change orders for the City Council to approve as covered by the contingency amount. The first two change orders were paid in amounts of $10,789 and $27,923. The third request for additional funding was $32,464.

At last Wednesday’s meeting, the City Council authorized city manager Armando Villa to make that payment to the contractor, increasing the contract’s contingency amount to a total of $71,177. That brings the total cost of the project to $584,010, according to City documents.

The $32,464 increase is covered by available funds in the traffic signalization category of the City’s Capital Improvement Program budget, according to information provided to council members last week.

 Public works director Nick Fidler told council members, “There were some errors in the design that were not the fault of the contractor,” necessitating the first change order. The staff report given to council stated that, “due to an unforeseen electrical design condition,” each of the 77 traffic signal controllers involved required new power strips to “safely connect all radios and video equipment to electricity.”

Fidler responded to council member Bob Karwin’s question about why the City was fronting payment for a contractor’s error.

“The error is the design engineer’s responsibility,” said Fidler, referring to STC Traffic, Inc. “We have to follow procedure. The City has sent a letter to begin the process of recovering the costs. We also met with the design consultant. But we have timing to meet [on the payment] to maintain our federal funding for this project.”

The second change order amount was requested because some of the radio transmitters were located too far apart to communicate, and because of line of sight obstructions, Fidler said. The third request was made because of further line of sight issues, which required relocation of five radios and purchase of additional equipment.

All of this is part of the City’s attempt to connect the signals through an interface to City Hall, where adjustments can be made to improve traffic flow. Fidler said 17 signal connections have been brought into the City Hall computer system and the remainder will be “captured” in August.

The City Council approved the additional amount by a 4-0 vote, with council member Matt Liesemeyer absent.