Broadway Bridge bid calls for 6-month closure

FILE — The Broadway Bridge connects downtowns Little Rock and North Little Rock.
FILE — The Broadway Bridge connects downtowns Little Rock and North Little Rock.

The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department opened bids Wednesday for the Broadway Bridge replacement project, and the as-read low bid calls for the span to be out of service only six months.

Officials will take a closer look at the four bids this week before one is officially awarded, so no construction plan is set as of Wednesday.

The low as-read bid came from Massman Construction Co. in Kansas City for about $98.4 million. That bid calls for the bridge to be taken out of service and back open to traffic on the new span in 180 days.

The three other bids were all more than $15 million higher and called for the bridge to be out of service for 250, 269 and 350 days, respectively.

The Highway Department estimated the bridge might be closed for a longer time at a cost of $80 million to $100 million.

Highway Department Director Scott Bennett cautioned the bids still need to be fully analyzed and checked for mistakes before one is awarded, likely early next week at the latest. But, he said, at first glance he was pleased to see one come in under $100 million.

"I think with the money we had available and knowing what we know about how complex that job is going to be, I hope we can get back and analyze the bids over the next couple days, and I hope this is one we can award," he said.

Bennett noted highway officials previously believed the bridge might be out of service 18 months, though he said they were being "extremely conservative" with that estimate.

The Massman bid is for only a third of that time frame.

"It tells me they've got a lot of experience and they found a way to do it quicker than what we thought could happen," he said.

Massman has done "some big bridge work" for Arkansas in the past, Bennett said.

"They're a good company," he said. "Not that any of the other ones aren't good companies, but the other ones that bid I don't recall doing as much work with them."

The Massman bid was also the lowest as-read, with the total amount considered for awarding at nearly $114.7 million. That figure takes into account the number of days the bridge would be out of service and the length of the project as a whole to produce a final dollar amount for comparison among the bidders. The Massman bid calls for a total project length of 810 days.

The formula includes a charge of $80,000 multiplied by the number of days the bridge would be out of service, so 180 in the Massman bid. Highway Department spokesman Danny Straessle said whoever is awarded the project would be fined that same amount — $80,000 — for every day they went over the days they said the bridge would be out of service.

The other three submitted bids — from Birmingham, Ala.-based Brasfield & Gorrie, LLC, Plains, Wis.-based Edward Kraemer & Sons, Inc. and Tampa, Fla.-based PCL Civil Constructors, Inc — ranged from about $114.2 million to about $115.4 million.

Read Thursday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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Bids for work on the Broadway Bridge are seen Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014.

BidderAmount BidAmount for Award Consideration
Brasfield & Gorrie, LLC; Birmingham, Ala.$115,440,000.00$145,809,000.00
Edward Kraemer & Sons, Inc.; Plain, Wis.$114,206,053.79$137,375,153.79
Massman Construction Co.; Kansas City, Mo.$98,404,049.69$114,667,049.69
PCL Civil Constructors, Inc.; Tampa, Fla.$114,415,248.15$136,678,448.15

The amount for award consideration is calculated using a formula that takes into account the amount bid, the project length and the days the bridge will be out of service.

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