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St. Paul Park approves MnDOT grant, awards Third Street reconstruction contract
Summary
The City Council unanimously approved a MnDOT Local Road Improvement Program grant agreement and awarded a construction contract to Geisslinger and Sons for the 2025 Third Street reconstruction, selecting the base bid plus a concrete trail alternate and noting available state aid to cover remaining costs.
The City of St. Paul Park City Council on May 19 approved a Minnesota Department of Transportation grant agreement and awarded a construction contract for the 2025 Third Street reconstruction project, voting unanimously to accept the low bid plus a concrete trail alternate.
The action funds reconstruction of Third Street from Broadway south to 14th Avenue, including full utility replacement, pedestrian improvements and a shared-use path on the east side to Pullman. "The bids ranged from $6.9 million to $7.9 million approximately," Morgan Dolly, an engineer with WSB, told the council, and "the engineer's estimate for the base bid was just right about in the middle, about $7.6, $7.7 million." Dolly said the low bidder was Geisslinger and Sons and staff recommended the base bid plus alternate 3, a concrete walk on the east side.
Why this matters: the project repairs a major corridor and includes pedestrian and traffic-calming upgrades that the city says will improve safety and accessibility. The council approved the MnDOT grant agreement (Resolution No. 1743) first, then accepted the construction bid and award (Resolution No. 1744) so the city could secure grant funding before entering the contract.
Project details and funding WSB described five bids received for the base construction. The staff recommendation was to accept the base bid plus alternate 3 (concrete trail) rather than alternate 2 (an asphalt trail) because public works prefers concrete for long-term maintenance. Dolly said alternate 1, which covered additional water-main work, came in higher and was not recommended.
Dolly summarized funding: the MnDOT grant totals $7 million, and the city has about $1.3 million in state-aid account dollars available to apply to this or other state-aid projects. The base bid plus alternate 3 increases the low bid by about $249,000, bringing the construction tally to roughly $7.1 million. Dolly told the council staff expect to shift some of the current engineering allocation into construction as the project moves from design to construction and said, "we should be able to cover it with a balance of the grant dollars plus with the available state aid funds at this time." He noted the engineering budget is tracking to come in under estimate and that $200,000 to $400,000 may be redeployed to construction.
Council questions and risk considerations Council members asked about the project's total cost, use of state-aid dollars, the road's designation, project duration and inflationary risk. Council Member Conrad asked about the total monies secured for the project; Dolly responded with the bid ranges, the $7 million grant and the $1.3 million of available state-aid funds. Council Member Swenson asked whether the route would remain designated a state-aid road if the council did not use state-aid dollars; Dolly confirmed the route is a state-aid road and has been for some time.
On contingencies, Dolly warned change orders or unforeseen site conditions (for example contaminated materials or additional bedrock removal) would require separate council action. He said the city is within its rights to hold the contractor to the unit prices submitted because the contract allows work to extend into the following year and contractors should have accounted for that in their bids.
Formal actions The council first approved Resolution No. 1743, the MnDOT Local Road Improvement Program grant agreement terms and conditions, by a 5-0 vote (motion by Council Member Swenson; seconded). The council then approved Resolution No. 1744, accepting the bid and awarding the construction contract to the low bidder for the base bid plus alternate 3 (concrete trail), by a 5-0 vote (motion to award including alternate 3; seconded). Staff said they will finalize the contract documents with Geisslinger and Sons and begin contract administration.
Next steps With the grant executed and the contract awarded, staff will move the project into construction administration, track contractor payments, and return to council for any change orders or additional funding decisions that become necessary.
