Town of Speedway accepts low bid for Crawfordsville Road pedestrian project; manager authorized to negotiate

The Speedway Town Council on March 10 accepted a low bid from Alco Incorporated of Batesville, Indiana, to build the Crawfordsville Road Pedestrian Improvement Project and authorized the town manager to issue a notice to proceed and negotiate contract terms.

Town Manager Grant Kleinhans told the council that "the low bid was from Alco Incorporated. They are out of Batesville, Indiana, in the amount of $2,861,657.37." He said the town received four bids and that they were competitive. Kleinhans told the council he expected construction to start after the Indianapolis 500 and that staff hopes to have contract paperwork completed in the next couple of weeks.

The project includes new sidewalk on the west side of Parkwood Drive and improvements near the CVS/Chase entrance, a mid-block crossing roughly in front of McAllister's and a new signal at the Kohl's entrance. Kleinhans said some changes to turning movements (including limiting direct left turns at one entrance) are intended to reduce rear-end crashes. He also said the sidewalk will terminate at the Kohl's entrance and a future project would be required to continue the sidewalk to Lyndhurst.

Counselor Sarah Gardner moved to approve the low bid and authorize the manager to proceed; Counselor Sean Harold seconded. President Nick Sturgeon called the vote; the motion passed 3-0.

Kleinhans said staff will try to coordinate staging with another nearby project at 20 Fifth Street to minimize impacts and that Indiana road construction season generally runs from about May 1 to Oct. 31, a factor in scheduling.