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Meade County opens bids for North Haines Avenue rebuild; no award made
Summary
Meade County commissioners and county engineers opened two sealed bids for a multi‑mile rebuild of North Haines Avenue. Western Construction submitted the low base bid; Simon Contractors submitted the higher bid. Commissioners will review the bids and HDR Engineering will return a recommendation; no contract was awarded at the meeting.
Meade County commissioners opened sealed bids on a planned rebuild of North Haines Avenue and heard an engineering summary that both bids came substantially under the engineer’s pre-bid estimate. HDR Engineering and county highway staff said they will review the proposals and return a recommendation; the commission did not award the contract at the meeting.
HDR Engineering project manager Stacia Slower told the commission that two sealed bids were received: Western Construction submitted a base bid of $1,756,268.72 with add‑alternate A at $534,656.00, add‑alternate B at $423,766.50 and add‑alternate C at $447,233.50. Simon Contractors submitted a base bid of $1,928,774.30 with add‑alternate A at $672,122.50, add‑alternate B at $460,391.85 and add‑alternate C at $492,606.65.
“The engineer’s estimate for the base bid was $2,900,000,” Slower said, and noted the alternates’ engineer estimates were higher than the submitted alternates. Slower said the bids came in below those estimates because of a number of bid‑ready decisions, including permitting a full roadway closure, flexible project timing and a decision to use a cement‑stabilized subgrade for the two‑mile rebuilt section.
Highway Superintendent Troy Eastman described the base bid scope: “The base bid is the cement‑stabilized subgrade. It’s about 2 miles, just about half a mile south of Peterson Road to about a quarter mile north of Husker Place,” with four inches of base and four inches of asphalt paving. Slower said add‑alternate A covers patching on roughly 10% of the remaining four miles of Haines Avenue, alternate B covers mill and overlay of the first two miles, and alternate C covers the remaining two miles.
The engineering team said shoulders were removed from the current design to reduce cost; adding shoulders later would require additional design work and potential easements. Slower also said allowing construction in either 2025 or 2026 gave bidders additional flexibility.
Commissioners did not act on the bids during the meeting. Slower said HDR would verify bid bonds, addenda acknowledgments and other submittal requirements and then provide an award recommendation to the commission for a future meeting or executive session.
No formal motion or vote to award the contract was recorded at the bid opening.
The commission will receive HDR’s recommendation after administrative checks and may consider award once staff reports are complete.
