Moab awards $2.54 million contract for 100 East roadway, shared-use path and utilities project

The Moab City Council voted unanimously May 27 to award a $2,539,055.50 construction contract to Kilgore Companies (doing business as LeGrande Johnson) for the 100 East Roadway Improvement Project.

The project includes full-depth roadway replacement, curb and gutter and sidewalk repairs and replacements, a shared-use path along the east side of 100 East and on the north side of Uranium Avenue, an upgraded 8-inch waterline, crosswalk enhancements and new street lighting. The city’s presentation identified limited bio-retention in the park strips and preservation of much parallel parking, with some removals where necessary.

City Engineer Mark presented detailed plans and said the project was advertised April 29 with bids due May 15. He said the schedule was broken intentionally into two windows: a 90-day priority period for roadway, shared-use path and curb/gutter work intended to maximize completion before school starts, followed by 60 days for lights, final sidewalks and landscaping. If the council awards the contract, staff planned notice of award and a pre-construction meeting to start work as soon as possible.

Council discussion touched on construction impacts, access and traffic control. Staff told the council the contractor may close the road during active construction periods but must meet explicit access requirements to keep key entrances open when possible. The city said it has coordinated with the local school district and City Market and that some short-term access disruptions — particularly for the driveway to City Market and the Gravity House area — are likely to require careful contractor coordination.

Councilmembers asked about bid variances on line items such as pedestrian/traffic control, drinking-fountain costs and tree replacement. Mark explained the city’s engineer estimate was lower than some bids but the low bid overall was within the city's budget and about $200,000 under the line-item budgeted amount. He said tree removals will be handled by change order only after arborist consultation; the contract includes a bid item for replacement trees. The waterline portion of the work will be paid from the enterprise fund; the remainder is being paid from the property-tax fund balance and does not require bonding.

The motion to award the contract was made by Councilmember Jason, seconded by Councilmember Luke; the vote was 5-0 in favor. Staff will return a signed agreement and notice to proceed, then manage construction under the city engineer’s oversight. Mark told the council the accelerated schedule aims to limit disruption to roughly 90 days for critical roadway work rather than an extended phased construction period.