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Alexander County awards $4.08 million contract to extend water lines across scattered sites
Summary
The county recommended awarding the ARPA-funded waterline extension contract to Bell Construction Company for $4,081,668 and set aside a 5% contingency to cover overruns; the project covers about 34,000 feet of new water lines at multiple locations.
The Alexander County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to award the county’s ARPA waterline extensions project to Bell Construction Company after a staff recommendation at the March 2025 meeting.
RJ Moseley of McGill & Associates presented a certified bid tabulation and recommended Bell Construction as the lowest responsive, responsible bidder. The project covers roughly 34,000 feet of waterline extensions at scattered sites across the county where residents have requested service. Moseley said the total bid, including the base bid and one bid alternate, was $4,081,668.
Moseley recommended that the county add a construction contingency equal to 5 percent of the contract value (about $205,000) to cover quantity overruns and unforeseen subsurface utility work common to waterline construction. He also noted one bid alternate evaluated costs in Hickory Hollow (off Davis Cove Road) — an area where residents reportedly have supply issues — and said the project will create new taps and meters for new customers.
Commissioners asked technical questions about pressure zones and the relationship of the project to existing tanks. Moseley explained that the county has multiple pressure zones fed from different tanks (Fairgrounds and Ellendale) and that a new Bethlehem tank will create an east‑of‑127 pressure zone; final hydraulic modeling and coordination with the City of Hickory will determine precise division points.
After discussion a commissioner moved to award the contract; the motion passed unanimously. The contract award was presented as the next step in the ARPA infrastructure expansion project and project administration will proceed with construction procurement and coordination with water utility partners.
Moseley said the county would receive the project PowerPoint and a detailed map the following day and that the bid tabulation is in the meeting packet. No schedule to completion was specified at the meeting.
