Schenectady awards Craig Street water‑main replacement bid; contract signing pending compliance paperwork

The Schenectady City government operations committee on Oct. 20 voted to award the bidding contract for the Craig Street water main replacement, a project tied to a federally funded complete‑streets corridor upgrade, to the low bidder; the formal contract will not be signed until the contractor provides required compliance paperwork.

City staff reported the corridor project from Forest to Albany Street has several millions of federal dollars committed for a complete‑streets rebuild. As part of pre‑construction work, staff said they inspected utilities and found the original water main — installed roughly 90 years ago — needs replacement before the larger $13,000,000 corridor investment proceeds.

Staff told the committee the city solicited bids and received multiple proposals in a range from about $1.4 million to about $2.4 million. The committee packet named Ground Brothers of Companies LLC as the recommended low bidder. Staff said the recommendation is contingent on the contractor completing required paperwork, including affirmative‑action documentation, and that the city will not execute the contract until that compliance review is complete.

Committee members moved and seconded the award; the committee voted in favor. Staff said references for the recommended bidder were checked and were positive, and that the procurement team will hold final contract execution pending confirmation of insurance, affirmative‑action and related documents.

What happens next: procurement and the mayor's office will complete compliance review. Once the contractor has satisfied the city's administrative and compliance requirements, the city will execute the construction contract and coordinate scheduling with the larger Craig Street corridor project.