TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Steven Lederer, Director of Public Works
REPORT BY: Dewey Phan, Assistant Engineer
SUBJECT: Approval of Plans and Specifications and Authorization to Advertise for Bids for the “2026 Annual Guardrail Repair, RDS 26-12” and Amendment 1 to Maintenance Agreement 8632
RECOMMENDATION
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Approve the Plans and Specifications for the “2026 Annual Guardrail Repair, RDS 26-12”; approve and authorize Amendment No. 1 to Maintenance Agreement No. 8632; and authorization to advertise for sealed bids and opening of the bids at a time, date, and location to be published by the Director of Public Works pursuant to Section 20150.8 of the Public Contract Code. (No Fiscal Impact)
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BACKGROUND
The Public Works Department maintains 420 miles of roads and about 22 miles of guardrail. Over many years, the County has constructed guardrails to help prevent drivers from driving into the Napa River, into creeks, and down roadway embankments. Every year wayward drivers damage guardrails along County roads. In the past, County staff have hired contractors to repair individual damaged guardrails, or the Public Works Roads Division staff repaired the damage as time and funding allowed. With the advent of funding from SB-1 the County now budgets for an annual guardrail repair project.
The annual guardrail repair program provides added safety for the public and is a more cost-effective method by repairing numerous guardrails with one construction contract to take advantage of economies of scale. Staff prioritized the repairs based on safety and available funding and will repair the remaining damage (plus any newly damaged guardrails) in future years.
On 10/21/25, the Board of Supervisors approved $110,000 for the engineering design of the 2026 Annual Guardrail Repair and the Engineer’s Estimate for the construction cost is $1,000,000. This includes 13 County roads, 1 location at the Dry Creek Bridge (21C0055), and 2 locations on St. Helena Highway (Caltrans’ 4 crash cushion replacement) related to the Vine Trail. The Dry Creek Road Bridge over Dry Creek (21C0055) is approximately 3.5 miles south of Oakville Grade Road and a northbound driver damaged the guardrails at the southeast corner of the bridge. The plans include installing crash cushions and guardrails at the four approaches to the Bridge. Caltrans conducted a safety inspection of the guardrails and crash cushions along the Napa Valley Vine Trail between St. Helena and Calistoga and determined that four “SLED” crash cushions no longer meet “Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware” (MASH) requirements. The plans include replacing the “SLED” crash cushions with “Delta Intelligent” crash cushions. This change requires amending the maintenance agreement between the County and Caltrans.
The Plans and Specifications are complete and ready for approval by the Board of Supervisors. The Director is requesting authorization to advertise for bids. Staff will return to the Board of Supervisors at the time of construction to present a detailed project budget based on the lowest responsible bid and to request a budget amendment to fund the project.
Requested Actions:
1. Approve Plans and Specifications for the “2026 Annual Guardrail Repair, RDS 26-12” and authorization to advertise for sealed bids.
2. Approve Amendment 1 to Maintenance Agreement 8632 with Caltrans.
FISCAL IMPACT
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Is there a Fiscal Impact? |
No |
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Is it currently budgeted? |
No |
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Where is it budgeted? |
Design cost for the 2026 Annual Guardrail is currently budgeted in Fund 2040,Org. 2040500 and Project 26015. Project is funded by SB-1. |
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Is it Mandatory or Discretionary? |
Discretionary |
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Discretionary Justification: |
Approval of the plans and specifications, Amendment 1, and authorization to advertise are necessary to move the project forward toward construction to improve public safety. |
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Is the general fund affected? |
No |
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Future fiscal impact: |
A budget amendment will be requested at time of construction contract award to fund project construction. |
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Consequences if not approved: |
If not approved, annual guardrail repair of county roads cannot begin, and the damaged guardrail will continue to be road safety hazards on various roads throughout the county |
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Strategic Initiative: |
Build healthy, connected communities. |
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: Consideration and possible adoption of a Categorical Exemption Class 1: It has been determined that this type of project does not have a significant effect on the environment and is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act. [See Class 1 (“Existing Facilities”) which may be found in the guidelines for the implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act of 14 CCR § 15301; see also Napa County’s Local Procedures for Implementing the California Environmental Quality Act, Appendix B].