The Avon Town Council voted June 26 to award the contract for the Raceway Road and County Road 100 North roundabout to Midwest Paving after the low bid came in substantially below the engineer’s estimate. Councilors also approved three right-of-way acquisition payments tied to the roundabout.

Ryan (town staff) introduced the bid results, saying the project received five bids and that the low bidder, Midwest Paving, submitted a bid of $2,000,009.55 compared with the town’s engineers estimate of $3,000,007.12. Ryan told the council that coming in under estimate was “really, really good” and that the town expects to use proceeds from a geo bond to pay its share of the project.

Ryan said the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) agreed to adjust the project participation split from 70/30 to an 80/20 arrangement because the bid came in under the allocated funding, reducing the town’s share. Ryan flagged one remaining question about whether the MPO would cover change orders if the project later exceeds the initial allocation and said staff would follow up.

Steve (town inspector/engineer) reported he had checked references for Midwest Paving and that Braun Rogers, the project inspector who previously worked on similar roundabout projects, had positive experience with the company. Steve told councilors Midwest Paving had reviewed its bid and told him it was comfortable with the price and anticipated a profit.

A council member moved to award the contract to Midwest Paving “as presented.” The motion passed on a unanimous roll call. Later in the meeting, staff asked the council to add and approve three claims to acquire additional right-of-way parcels needed for the roundabout; councilors approved those checks to allow utilities to be relocated and to keep the project on schedule.

Town staff said the low bids on this and another recently advertised project could allow the town to complete both projects with the geo bond and still have money left over to leverage for additional work, including potentially matching Community Crossing grants.

The council’s action authorizes award of a unit-price contract to Midwest Paving and immediate payment of right-of-way claims so utilities relocations and construction can proceed to keep the project timeline on track.