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ODOT rejects bids for Jefferson paving; city plans to rebid as local project
Summary
Ohio Department of Transportation rejected bids for the Jefferson Street paving project after offers came in about 30% over ODOTestimates. Defiance City Engineer Melinda Sprout told council the city will seek local bids for a reduced scope, and ODOT will refund the city's deposit.
The Ohio Department of Transportation rejected bids for a paving project on Jefferson Street after bids came in substantially above ODOTs published estimate, Defiance City Engineer Melinda Sprout told the Defiance City Council.
Sprout said ODOT informed the city it would not award the contract because the low bids were "almost 30 over the estimate that ODOT published, so they could not award it." She said ODOT will return the city's deposit and that the city has two options: take the project on as a local bid package with a reduced scope and hope competitive bids come in this year, or let ODOT repackage the project with other nearby roads for rebidding next year.
The rejected scope had covered Jefferson from Rosewood to Second Street. Sprout and council members discussed shortening the municipal bid to a smaller segment, described as roughly from the north side of the bridge to Second Street, to reduce the project size and encourage lower bids.
Council members pressed for speed because residents on Jefferson have waited a long time for resurfacing. Sprout said timing depends on contractor schedules and that work would have to finish before asphalt plants close for the season. She told council the city expects ODOT to still participate on eligible costs if the city completes the work locally; ODOTs participation was described as an 80/20 approach, with ODOT covering 80% of eligible surface-course costs.
Council members asked about money already paid to ODOT as a deposit. Sprout said the deposit would be returned; one council member noted, "That's not to say that we would have to spend the full $350,000 that we gave to ODOT as our deposit," emphasizing that the final local cost remains to be determined.
Council discussed alternative uses for any budget surplus if other resurfacing bids come in under estimate. Melinda said staff has begun researching other streets and alleys that could be resurfaced if additional funds are available.
The issue arose during the city engineer's update; no formal council vote was recorded on the Jefferson item during this meeting. Council members asked staff to rebid quickly and consider reducing the project's scope if necessary.
