Recommend approval to award a contract for the demolition and reconstruction of the wall at the Visitor Center's Whistle Stop Junction and Permit Office to Pioneer Construction in the amount of $166,384.00. Whistle Stop Junction is located in District 1 at 301 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. This work will be done in conjunction with the removal of the baggage car and caboose by the Coastal Heritage Society.

The retaining wall along Louisville Road cannot support the weight of the baggage car and the caboose that are adjacent to the wall. The baggage car currently serves as a partial wall for the Whistle Stop Junction restaurant, which is now closed. Inside the restaurant, a partial section of the baggage car is exposed and acts as the interior and exterior wall. In order to remove the baggage car, a section of the Whistle Stop Junction and the tourism office wall will need to be removed so that the crane can remove the car. Once the baggage car is removed, a new exterior wall will be constructed. The wall at the tourism office will also be replaced. Additionally, the leaking roof over the tourism office will be replaced, as will flooring damaged by the leaks. Once the train cars are removed, there will be a significant reduction in the weight that the retaining wall has to support and the wall can subsequently be repaired. The retaining wall repairs will be completed under a separate contract.

Though the original bid was $261,770.00, this project has been value engineered and the new cost of $166,384.00 is being recommended.

Approval