ST9302-CS031009Octo~ 9, 2003
COP?ELL
Kris~. Thomas, President
Access~gy, Inc.
302 East C~rch Street
Lewisv'flle, TXx75057
Re:
Sandy Lake Road Project # ST 93-02
Accessology No. PINS 120231
TDLR Project No. EABPRJ A1008798
Dear Ms Thomas:
This letter is written as a follow-up to our conversations and recent e-mails concerning the ADA
issues associated with the construction of Sandy Lake Road from Denton Tap Rd. to MacArthur
Blvd. With this letter, I am providing copies of information from our files which more accurately
shows the timeline of the various components of this project.
The original design contract with Rady and Associates was entered into June 22, 1993. In Section
2.1.1. it states that the engineer, Kimley-Horn, is the City of Coppell's professional engineering
representative for the project. In Section 2.2.2. it is noted that the engineer was required to make
site visits during construction and in Section 2.2.3. the engineer was to note any defective work
during the site visits and bring it to the City's attention. Also, in Section 2.2.11. it is noted that the
engineer, Kimley-Hom, was to provide an inspection to determine if the work was complete and if
the completed work was acceptable prior to the finaling of the project by the City of Coppell.
In Section 6.9.1., the contract discusses the standard of care that Kimley-Horu was to provide as the
City of Coppell's prime design professional and engineering representative for the project. The
contract clearly establishes Kimley-Hom as the engineer for the project. And, the Architectural
Barriers Act requires that the engineer with responsibility for the plans and specifications and the
overall responsibility for the design of the facilities shall submit the plans and specifications for
review.
Obviously, in this case the plans were not submitted in a timely manner. The actual construction of
Sandy Lake Road began in October 1998. The project was nearing substantial completion in mid-
2001 when I began inquiring as to the ADA inspection. Notes from my dayfimer indicate that this
was approximately April 2001. In April 2001 representatives of Kimley-Hom contacted this office
to discuss sidewalk ramps, among other issues. During that discussion, it was determined that the
plans had not been submitted for review and I inquired as to whether or not them was an exemption
for the project. The City of Coppell received a letter on May 16, 2001 from Kimley-Horn and
Associates stating that the project was not exempt from the Act. Kimley-Hom then provided plans
along with a form and the City provided the check to submit the plans to TDLR for review. On
July 9, 2001 Kimley-Horn received a review from TDLR concerning some potential deficiencies in
the plans. In reviewing the status of the project in July 2001, it should be noted that the project was
nearly complete. I have included a copy of our pay estimate for the month of July 2001. Almost all
of the street paving was installed, all the alley paving and driveway paving was already constructed
and approximately 40% of the sidewalks and pavestones were constructed.
That was the status of Sandy Lake Road when we received our first correspondence from TDLR.
There was some discussion between myself and Kimley-Horn concerning the letter from TDLR,
however, I do not have documentation of those discussions.
My next documented conversation with Kimley-Horn concerning ADA was January 17, 2002. At
this time, 100% of the sidewalk, pavestones, street paving, alleys, driveways, etc. were installed.
My conversation January 17, 2002 was to the effect that the City was still waiting on a letter from
Kimley-Horn addressing the previous letter from TDLR. On February 7, 2002, the City received
the response from Kimley-Horn concerning the TDLR letter dated July 9, 2001. I have provided a
copy of Kimley-Horn's response. It is important to note that at this date, the Sandy Lake Road
project was basically complete.
Several items that showed up in your inspection review of the project were noted by Kimley-Horn
as not being valid comments. Those included: sidewalks exceeding a 5% slope and height of
pedestrian crosswalk controls. On most other comments, Kimley-Horn stated that the City should
wait for the TDLR inspection before responding. They did recommend that we paint the ramps.
This was obviously something that we were aware of and were waiting to do until after the
inspection. They also noted in their February 7, 2002 letter that them was no response needed back
to TDLR.
On December 8, 2002, the City of Coppell received a notice of inspection due from TDLR
concerning Sandy Lake Road. Shortly thereafter, the City of Coppell contracted with your firm to
provide that inspection in lieu of the State. The inspection by Accessology noted numerous
deficiencies in the ADA requirements.
To date, we are currently working on a 90-day extension set to expire on October 23, 2003. Based
on our prior conversations, my goal is as follows:
To have Accessology review the included information to determine what our chances are of
obtaining some type of a variance to some of the deficiencies, if not for most of the
deficiencies;
For the City of Coppell to retain the services of Accessology for a very detailed walk-thru of
Sandy Lake Road with myself and the City's inspector to review each and every issue noted in
the deficiencies by Accessology, Inc. dated April 16, 2003 along with recommendations from
Accessology, Inc. on how the deficiencies can be corrected.
As I have stated several times, there are some situations along the 2-mile length of Sandy Lake
Road which do not meet ADA requirements. However, they are better than the situation was prior
to the construction of the roadway. The City had very real constraints in trying to widen a roadway
from a 20-foot asphalt roadway to a 4-lane divided boulevard that already had development along
the entire length of the project and trying to tie into the developed driveways, streets and alleys
from Denton Tap Rd. to MacArthur Blvd.
I will be out of the office the week of October 13, 2003. However, I am free October 20th to do a
detailed walk-thru if that date is acceptable to you. Because of the expiration of the current 90-day
extension, this letter should also serve as a request for an additional extension to perform the
necessary modifications to the referenced project.
If you should have any questions or need additional information, please feel free to call me. If not, I
look forward to hearing from you about scheduling a detailed walk-thru on Sandy Lake Road.
Sincerely,
Kenneth M. Griffin, P.E.
Director of Engineering / Public Works
Office 972/304-3686
Fax 92/304-7041
cc: Garreth Campbell, Construction Inspector