Recommend approval of Amendment No. 4 in the amount of $1,357,000.00 to Kimley-Horn & Associates, Inc. for Project DeRenne Phase III. This amendment will consist of the following general work tasks: 

• Project and discipline management
• Traffic engineering update
• Environmental documentation/public involvement
• Design plans/preliminary field plan review completion
• Rights–of–way plans preparation
• Water quality/MS4 compliance.

Project DeRenne is a five-phase process to reduce traffic congestion and improve traffic flow, increase neighborhood connectivity, and develop long-term solutions for the revitalization of the DeRenne Avenue Corridor, one of Savannah's most heavily traveled roadways.   

Phases 1 and 2 consisted of detailed traffic analysis, public outreach and engagement, creation of evaluation criteria and transportation/land-use alternatives, and development of the preferred option and preliminary design. The current Phase 3 involves a complex environmental review process to better understand the related impacts that the preliminary design may have on all aspects of the project. Phase 4 will include finalizing the design of the selected improvements, and Phase 5 will include construction and implementation of the selected improvements. 

The City is seeking federal transportation funds to complete the project, and the environmental review is a requirement of this funding process.  

In the fall of 2016, the Federal Highway Administration and the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) determined that the project-quantified environmental impacts went beyond an environmental assessment, and required a full Environmental Impact Statement. GDOT was notified of the City’s commitment to move forward with the environmental process, and to authorize GDOT to change the project schedule.

City Council awarded the original Project DeRenne Phase III consulting services contract to Kimley-Horn & Associates, Inc. on August 24, 2011, in the amount of $2,804,404.00. There have been three previous amendments to this agreement  -- January 9, 2015; September 17, 2015 and May 17, 2016 -- for a total of $599,330.45. Total contract cost, including Amendment 4, will be $4,760,734.45.

Approval