Request for Durham City Council and City Staff to Move Forward with Design and Construction of the I-40 Bridge & Final Phase of the American Tobacco Trail in Durham, North Carolina

By signing this instrument, I agree and represent that I have read, understand and agree with all of the foregoing statements:

1. We have recently learned that planning for the construction of the next phase of the American Tobacco Trail (ATT) in Durham is stalled. There are continuing delays in starting the design process as well as assigning department responsibilities and management oversight responsibility in Durham municipal departments. Though the City of Durham has worked out a municipal agreement with NCDOT, the City has not yet signed an agreement with Parsons Brinkerhoff (PB) to begin design of the bridge and remaining trail. We'd like to ask that you look into this because the ATT is long overdue for completion in Durham.

2. We ask that you get the ATT moving again by hiring the design firm, Parsons Brinkerhoff - which was selected as the design firm over three years ago - so they can start design, project scoping and route definition of Phase E of the American Tobacco Trail.

3. We ask that you assign and task design and overall project responsibility to the appropriate City department(s), and utilize existing staff or immediately hire new staff as needed to oversee this project.

4. The design process needs to begin immediately. The longer this takes, the longer the timelines for both bidding and construction of the project will be pushed out. With construction-related costs increasing at 12 to 20\% each year there will be less money for both the bridge and trail if there are further delays.

5. We understand that all of the City's Departments are currently focused on projects to be built with 2005 Bond Funds. We certainly agree that the projects within the 2005 Bond Package are sorely needed, but we are afraid that the completion of the ATT bridge and trail will fall to the wayside. It is important to note that significant federal, state and local funds were set aside for the ATT in Durham well before passage of the 2005 Bond Referendum. Durham needs to finish the ATT and other earlier planned and budgeted projects first!

6. We understand that the existing and expected completion of the American Tobacco Trail was one of the principal reasons Durham was recently selected as one of North Carolina's first Fit Communities.

7. We urge the City Manager, City Staff, Mayor and the Durham City Council to remain focused on completion of the ATT in Durham. We ask that a contract with Parsons Brinkerhoff be signed within two months and that public meetings on the design occur before end of this calendar year. In order to avoid mounting construction costs, we would like to see bidding of construction by the middle of 2007.