TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: Bob Moehling, Public Works Director
PREPARED BY: Jeff Hitch, City Engineer
SUBJECT:
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Continuation of the Emergency Declaration, Appropriation of Funding, and Award of Construction Contract for Hayes Avenue Bridge at Miller Canyon Creek
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ABSTRACT
In this agenda report, staff requests City Council to declare that emergency conditions persist at the Hayes Avenue Bridge at Miller Canyon Creek, appropriate additional funding to Capital Improvement Project (CIP) Project 11004, and approve the execution of a contract to reconstruct the bridge.
RECOMMENDATION
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Adopt Resolution 26-4932 entitled: A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Murrieta, California, Declaring that Emergency Conditions Persist, and Approving the Execution of a Contract for Reconstruction of the Hayes Avenue Bridge at Miller Canyon Creek without Notice for Bids Pursuant to California Public Contract Code Section 1102, 20168, and 22050; and
Amend the FY 2025/26 Capital Improvement Plan as detailed in the fiscal impact statement.
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PRIOR ACTION/VOTE
On June 20, 2023, the City Council authorized an on-call consulting services Agreement with Michael Baker International, Inc. for civil engineering services (Vote: 4-0).
On March 18, 2025, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 25-4816, declaring an emergency condition for the Hayes Avenue Bridge at Miller Canyon Creek, authorizing a purchase order for Michael Baker International in the amount of $89,580.92, and amending the Capital Improvement Plan budget to create the Hayes Avenue Bridge at Miller Canyon Creek Project CIP No. 11004 and appropriate $725,000 of Area Drainage Fees (Vote 5-0).
On June 3, 2025, the City Council approved Resolution No. 25-4836, approving the Capital Improvement Plan Budget for Fiscal Year 2025/26, and the Fiscal Year 2025/26 to 2029/30 Capital Improvement Plan (Vote 5-0).
On July 1, 2025, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 25-4863, appropriating funding and approving the execution of a contract for reconstruction of the Hayes Avenue Bridge at Miller Canyon Creek (Vote 4-0).
On December 16, 2025, the City Council approved Amendment No. 1 to the Agreement with Contech Engineered Solutions for the additional amount of $130,500, to purchase a precast concrete arch-culvert system for the Hayes Avenue Bridge at Miller Canyon Creek (Vote 5-0).
STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT
The City Council’s goal of planning, programming and creating infrastructure development is associated with this administrative priority.
DISCUSSION
On February 6, 2025, staff encountered a pothole in the deck of the Hayes Avenue Bridge crossing Miller Canyon Creek, located generally between Ivy Street and B Street. Upon this discovery, Engineering staff believed the bridge could be unsafe and closed the bridge until further evaluation could be completed.
Michael Baker International (MBI) was contracted using the City of Murrieta’s (City) existing on-call agreement to perform a structural evaluation of the bridge. The evaluation was performed, and a report was generated and provided to the city. The report concluded that the bridge is structurally deficient for fire truck access and needs to be replaced. The bridge has a span of 15 feet and is 24 feet wide, with concrete abutments, wooden girders, and decking covered with asphalt concrete. MBI subsequently provided the city with a proposal to provide environmental and engineering services for engineering plans and emergency environmental permits necessary to replace the bridge with an alternate reinforced concrete box culvert. In August 2025, the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board rejected the box culvert design, resulting in a modification of the design to an arch-span bridge structure with a soft bottom.
On October 23, 2025, the City entered into an Agreement with Contech Engineered Solutions (Contech) to complete the structural design of the precast concrete arch-span culvert. On December 16, 2025, the city amended the Agreement with Contech to purchase the pre-cast components of the structure for $130,500. The precast structure components, consisting of the arch-spans, headwalls, and wing walls, are currently being manufactured with an anticipated delivery date of May 26, 2026.
The adoption of an emergency declaration on March 18, 2025, allowed for emergency permitting as well as foregoing the typical public works bidding requirements pursuant to the Public Contract Code. The emergency declaration has been continued since the original adoption to ensure that Hayes Avenue roadway is reopened at the earliest opportunity due to the current lack of secondary access to portions of the West side of the City, as well as continued extended response time for public safety personnel.
As allowed under the laws applicable to emergencies, staff has negotiated a scope of work and fee with a local contractor, Murrieta Development Company, Inc. (MDC), to perform the construction. Staff also coordinated with another contractor, Mark Company, but found MDC’s pricing to be more favorable. MDC last completed emergency work for the City on the Alta Murrieta Drive Sinkhole Repair in 2019. The scope of work to be performed by MDC will consist of removing the existing bridge structure, minor grading, and construction of a precast concrete arch-span culvert with precast concrete headwalls and wingwalls, cast-in-place concrete foundations, rip rap energy dissipators, a new pavement section over the culvert, and guardrail. Construction is anticipated to commence within two weeks of award and take six (6) to seven (7) weeks to complete.
The emergency conditions will remain until the bridge has been repaired. Under the California Public Contract Code, the City Council is required to periodically review whether the emergency conditions have abated and/or continue, as well as to adopt a resolution by a four-fifths vote to confirm the continuation of the emergency or to declare the emergency to be concluded.
Upon completion of the scope work and fee negotiations with MDC, staff found the proposal to be consistent with current market values. Staff recommends awarding the construction contract to Murrieta Development Company, Inc. in the amount of $607,750, plus a 25% contingency of $151,938, for a total of $759,688.
The CIP 11004 project was funded with $725,000 of Area Drainage Fees during the March 18, 2025, emergency declaration, with an additional $200,000 appropriated on July 1, 2025. An additional $25,000 was transferred in from another CIP project during the last CIP Budget adoption, bringing the current project budget to $950,000. The construction pricing was found to be higher than anticipated to cover design, construction, and construction inspection. Therefore, an additional $200,000 of Area Drainage Fees is necessary to fully fund this construction.
PUBLIC NOTICING
The agenda item has been noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of
the meeting at which the City Council considers the item).
CEQA AND REGULATORY OVERVIEW
This action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) and 15060(c)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines because this action will not result in a physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly.
FISCAL IMPACT
The proposed contract amount to be awarded is $607,750, plus an additional 25% contingency amount of $151,938, for a total of $759,688. Funding is available in CIP 11004 to award the construction contract.
Staff recommends an amendment to the FY 2025/26 Capital Improvement Plan budget to appropriate an additional $200,000 of Area Drainage Fees into CIP 11004.
ATTACHMENTS
ATT 1 - Resolution No. 26-4932
ATT 2 - Contract between the City of Murrieta and Murrieta Development Company, Inc.
ATT 3 - Proposal from Murrieta Development Company, Inc
ATT 4 - Vicinity Map