Hillsborough County bid review committee votes to move forward with $2.07M low bid for Morris Bridge Road mobility work

The Hillsborough County Bid Review Committee voted to move forward with the low bid from Blacktip Services Incorporated for IFB 20424977, the Morris Bridge Road AM Mobility Improvements, after reviewing a cost analysis showing the bid exceeded the county estimate by roughly 15.8 percent.

Under board policy that requires committee review of projects of $50,000 or more when the low bid exceeds the construction estimate by 10 percent or more, committee members compared the county estimate of $1,943,826.17 with Blacktip Services' low bid of $2,074,000.75 and a total cost including allowances of $2,251,458.47. The committee recorded that the difference between the estimate and the total with allowances was $307,632.30, or about 15.8 percent higher than the estimate.

During discussion the project manager told the committee that several line items were substantially higher than the county's unit-price estimates. The project manager identified three item groups (transcribed in the record as ‘‘black chip,’’ ‘‘milling and resurfacing,’’ and ‘‘asphalt concrete friction’’) as the primary contributors to the higher bid prices and said the contractor’s pricing suggested they may have anticipated deeper pavement repairs than the county estimated. A member of the committee confirmed there were no objections as to funding availability for the project.

After the discussion the committee chair asked for a vote on whether to move forward with the low bid; the three committee members present voted in favor. No mover or seconder was specified in the record. Committee members did not state additional conditions or next steps during the recorded discussion.

The action on the bid will be reflected in the procurement record for IFB 20424977. The transcript does not record subsequent contract-award steps or a council-level approval timeline.