Weatherford council OK's final change order for I-20 project

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November 15, 2012

Weatherford council OK's final change order for I-20 project

Brian Smith CNHI The Weatherford Democrat Thu Nov 15, 2012, 08:00 AM CST

WEATHERFORD — The sixth and final change order to the work finalizing the I-20 frontage road project between South Main Street and Santa Fe Drive was approved during Tuesday night’s Weatherford city council meeting.

Director of Capital Transportation Projects Terry Hughes told the council the change order is for $126,184 and will finish up the sandblasting and painting of the top railing along retaining walls along with removing and adding some sign placement.

The monies will also go toward the removing and replacing of crash attenuators on the U-turn bridges. Hughes said motorists who have damaged them will be paying part of the costs as the city is working with insurance companies to get $31,252 back.

The first change order reduced the cost by more than $300,000. The original cost of the project was $24,678,908 with the final cost being $24,543,932, a staff report stated.

Other action

In other news, the council approved making an eight acre area at 825 E Interstate 20 a reinvestment zone and also changing the zoning from agricultural to commercial/interstate. Director of Planning and Development Craig Farmer said the Weatherford Independent School District used to have agriculture buildings on the property, which is being considered for a shopping/retail area.

Dennis Clayton with the Weatherford Economic Development Authority said this is the third reinvestment zone the city has approved over the last several months. He later gave the WEDA’s fourth quarter report and said things are going well and a lot of interest is being shown in the area.

The city has been negotiating with Weatherford Entertainment, LLC for an entertainment complex on the site for the last few months. Clayton said negotiations are ongoing.

The council also OK’d:

• The purchase of a wheel loader for the street department. The purchase will be made from Kirby-Smith Inc. of Fort Worth through a contract with the Houston-Galveston Area Council of Governments for an amount not to exceed $139,716.

• The reappointing of Dr. Mark Eidson as City Health Official/Local Health Authority.