The La Center City Council took several steps Wednesday, Jan. 28, to move the long-planned Fourth Street widening project closer to construction, approving multiple contracts tied to building and managing the project.
The approvals mark a significant milestone for the Fourth Street project. The full project includes a widened roadway, a continuous sidewalk on the north side, buffered bike lanes and a new bridge over Breeze Creek designed to improve fish passage and traffic capacity. Construction is tentatively scheduled to begin in October, with completion anticipated in 2027.
The council authorized Mayor Tom Strobehn to sign a $16.15 million construction contract with Rotschy Construction for the Fourth Street Widening Project. The project covers the segment of Fourth Street between Cedar Avenue and Highland Road and has been in design since 2019, though progress stalled until full funding was secured.
The construction award follows a competitive bidding process that drew eight bids. Jeffries Construction initially submitted the lowest bid but withdrew it the following day due to significant errors, according to a city staff report. Rotschy Construction was the next lowest bidder.
While the original construction cost estimate was about $12.9 million, additional factors raised the total. The project includes temporary and permanent reconstruction of a waterline, with Clark Public Utilities set to reimburse the city $765,564 for that portion of the work. Even with federal grants and utility reimbursement totaling roughly $14.5 million, the project faces a funding gap of just over $3 million once construction management and inspection costs are included. City Councilor Elizabeth Cerveny abstained from voting on the award of the construction contract. All other councilors voted in favor.
City staff reported that La Center has collected sufficient traffic impact fees to cover the shortfall and plans to pursue cost-saving change orders during construction.
In a separate unanimous vote, the council approved a $1.435 million agreement with CONSOR Inc. to provide project management and construction inspection services. Due to the project’s size and reliance on federal funding, oversight must meet Washington State Department of Transportation requirements and will extend for the full construction period, estimated at about 18 months.
The council also unanimously approved a $386,000 change order with APEX Consulting, the project’s design firm. The additional work is tied largely to federal requirements, including compliance with the Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act, which restricts the use of foreign steel in federally funded infrastructure projects. APEX will also revise plans to support cost-saving changes and serve as the engineer of record during construction.
According to city staff, the revisions are expected to reduce overall construction costs by an estimated $1.2 million to $1.5 million, offsetting the added design expense.
