Press release from the Board of Commissioners:
Bids on Maplecrest Extension Come in Under Estimate
Local construction firm apparent low bidder
A Fort Wayne firm is in the driver’s seat to construct Allen County’s Maplecrest Road Extension Project, submitting a bid one-third less than the engineer’s estimate.
Primco, Inc. submitted the apparent low bid of $28,792,000 to construct the project. Four other bids submitted ranged from $34.6 million to $39.3 million. Engineers had estimated construction of the project would run around $44,000,000.
“This is great news for the citizens of Allen County,” said County Commissioner Linda Bloom. “We know from recent experience that bidding among construction companies for county road projects has been very competitive, given the state of the economy. So while we were not overly surprised by the Maplecrest bids, we’re still extremely pleased.”
The County will use money from its Major Bridge Fund, a $25 million bond, a federal earmark of $10 million from Congressman Mark Souder and funding from the cities of Fort Wayne and New Haven to finance the extension.
“From conception to completion, the total cost was originally estimated at $53 million,” said Bill Hartman, County Highway Director. “The substantial savings on the construction side should help free up money in the Major Bridge Fund for other important projects.”
“It’s also good that a local company with a fine reputation like Primco has submitted the low bid,” Bloom added. “This should give our local economy an extra boost.”
The project will extend Maplecrest from Lake Avenue to Adams Center Road at Indiana 930 in New Haven. It features construction of 1.5 miles of new 4-lane roadway section with curb and gutter and four new bridges. Additionally, the project includes design of new storm sewers, a multi-use trail, traffic signing, and three at-grade intersections, including three traffic signal designs. Construction is expected to begin in the spring with the entire project finished by fall of 2012.
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