From the Delta County Independent (Hank Lohmeyer):
Williams Construction’s bid for the pipeline work was $2.14 million…
With the selection of the Norwood contractor’s low bid last week, the Orchard City trustees are piling up the savings on their West Side water line project. Orchard City is considered a “deprived area” under a federal EPA designation which qualified the town for a $2 million grant on its water line replacement project. When the project went out to bid, Williams submitted an estimate for a mile more water line than required for a $2.3 million price tag. The mistake was explained as a confusion over specifications in bid documents. Nevertheless, Williams Construction agreed to honor the unit cost of their bid, a move that shaved an additional $156,707 from the project estimates for the first phase work. That saved money was earmarked to come directly out of the town’s own $750,000 contribution to the project. Now instead, the money will stay in the town’s bank account along with the Orchard City’s other $3.9 million in cash reserves. In addition, the town will get its entire seven-plus miles of new water line laid in the project’s first phase, eliminating the need for a second phase to complete the work. That cuts another $1.65 million off the original estimated project cost. And, Williams Construction senior estimator, Phillip Leopold, said that recent declines in the price of resins used to manufacture the HDPE polymer pipe lines will give the town “the best price I’ve seen in ten years” on materials. All told, the town was expecting to pay $4.1 million for the project, and to take on 30-plus years of new debt. Now, the project is expected to be completed for $2.7 million, or less, with no new town debt.
More coverage from the Delta County Independent (Hank Lohmeyer):
During the bid acceptance at the town board’s Oct. 13 meeting, Phillip Leopold, senior estimator for Williams Construction, told the trustees that his pipe supplier can begin delivery on-site in two weeks from contract signing. That, hopefully, will allow the company to begin laying line this fall, at the top end of the project near the town water treatment plant, Leopold said. When weather turns bad at the higher elevations, pipeline crews hope to switch their focus and begin working uphill from the town’s Eckert water tank. That construction schedule has slipped significantly since last spring when a September work start date was set. Project engineer Larry Reschke said the contract specifies that the work be completed by next August at the latest. But, he added that “we expect it to be completed a lot sooner than that.” Some estimates call for a five-month time frame for completing the water plant-to-Eckert tank work. Weather is a wild card factor in the time table guesstimating…
The pipeline will be buried with three-feet of cover. The original project specifications called for four to five feet cover depth. The change to the shallower bury will save on cost. The builders will bore under paved roads, eliminating pavement cuts. The new pipeline will be pressurized for its entire length. Only part of the existing West Side line is pressurized. The new line will have a half dozen or more pressure relief valves along its length.
More infrastructure coverage here.