Lawrence City’s Stormwater Board on June 2025 approved a $66,440 change order for Midwest Paving to cover additional asphalt needed to complete the Brookside Park stormwater project.

The approval covers 440 extra tons of asphalt at $151 per ton after contractors found a failing base that required a “wedge and level” repair, city staff said. The board voted to approve the change order during a special June meeting.

City staff told the board that the Brookside Park stormwater work began in 2023 and that the contractor finished the punch list last Friday. “It’s for $66,440. We needed 440 more tons of asphalt at a $151 per ton,” a stormwater staff member said. The staff explained the extra paving was needed because a section of base proved poor once it was opened; to make the road drain properly the crew had to add and remove asphalt in places to create the correct crown.

“The project wouldn’t have worked the way it was designed” without the wedge-and-level work, the staff member said, describing why the overrun occurred and why it was not foreseeable until that stage of construction.

Board members motioned and seconded the change order; the board then voted in favor. The staff also said there will be additional requests for engineering money related to the change order that will come to the board separately.

The board’s action funds work already completed by Midwest Paving; staff said the engineering request related to documenting and addressing the change order will be presented later.