Indiana firm low bidder for Interstate 540 repair work

Repairing selected sections of Interstate 540 in Van Buren and Fort Smith will cost $10.4 million, or almost $1 million under the low bid for the same project the Arkansas Department of Transportation rejected last month.

American Contracting and Services Inc. of Jeffersonville, Ind., submitted the low bid, besting Gibson & Associates Inc. of Balch Springs, Texas, which submitted an $11.1 million bid.

Gibson submitted the low bid last month, almost $11.3 million, which the department rejected.

Wednesday's bids won't be final until they undergo a review by state highway officials.

The project is to repair the main lanes and bridge decks on a 4.15-mile section of I-540 that runs between U.S. 64 in Van Buren and U.S. 271 in Fort Smith. The route includes a bridge over the Arkansas River.

A factor in computing the bid results was the time the contractors said it would take for them to complete the project, which is calculated as a cost to motorists in terms of increased delay, added fuel consumption and extra wear and tear on vehicles during the life of a project.

American Contracting and Services said it would need slightly more time than what Gibson said it would need -- 239 days and 225 days, respectively. But even when the time was calculated, American Contracting and Services' bid amount for "award consideration" was a little more than $18 million, less than Gibson's amount for consideration, $18.3 million.

Last month, Gibson said it could do the work in 160 days.

Metro on 06/14/2018

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