By DAVE SCHULTZ
At the recommendation of Street Commissioner Tim Simpson, the Bluffton Board of Public Works and Safety did not go forward with a bid the city’s Community Crossings projects Tuesday afternoon.
Simpson said it was good news that the city received two bids for the work, but the bad news was that the lowest bid was still $100,000 more than what the cost estimate for the project was.
The low bid was submitted by E&B Paving of Huntington, at nearly $400,000, while Brooks Construction of Fort Wayne submitted a bid of more than $444,000.
Because the bids were so high, Simpson recommended the board wait for clarification from the state, which administers the Community Crossings program. Under that program, the state provides 50 percent of Bluffton’s costs for the construction work.
Simpson said the situation is the same statewide, with inflation boosting the cost of materials and labor to get projects done.
Simpson said it was possible all of the bids could be rejected and the projects be resubmitted in the next round of Community Crossings work due in July.
Simpson said he will come back to the Board of Works meeting on June 7 with more information.
The city plans to do paving on Monroe, Bond, Washington, and Market streets this year.
daves@news-banner.com
