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Isanti County moves to expand County Road 5 roundabout project after low bids, contingent on state eligibility and ARPA local match
Summary
Isanti County approved expanding the County Road 5 roundabout project after construction bids came in well below the engineer’s estimate, with added work to be covered by LRIP funds and the county’s ARPA allocation if the state deems the extra scope eligible.
Isanti County on July 1 approved staff’s recommendation to expand the scope of the joint County/City of Isanti County Road 5 roundabout project after construction bids came in significantly below the engineer’s estimate.
"The low bid came at $1,100,000," Justin Bergerson, Isanti County highway engineer, told commissioners, comparing it to the project engineer’s estimate of about $1.6 million. Bergerson and the city engineer reviewed items that had been omitted for budget reasons and identified roughly $496,859 in additional work that could be added based on contract unit prices.
Because the City of Isanti secured $1.5 million from the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s Local Road Improvement Program (LRIP), the county and city could use the favorable bid environment to restore curb and gutter, sidewalk improvements at intersections, pavement restoration and other work across the corridor between the railroad tracks and State Highway 65. Bergerson told the board that the county had previously earmarked up to $450,000 in ARPA funds to cover any local match or non‑eligible costs.
"My recommendation would be move to approve proceeding with change order number 1, contingent on state approval for eligibility and contingent use of ARPA funds allocated from the county's local match," Bergerson said; the board approved that motion.
Staff said the city will lead the construction schedule and the county and city will coordinate notices and detour information. Tentative construction start is in August; staff said they will provide advance public notices and a contractor schedule after the preconstruction meeting. The county expects the work to be complete before winter, subject to weather and contractor scheduling.
The board was also told that grade‑separation (overpass/underpass) at the rail line was not part of the feasibility for this project and would be a much larger undertaking.
The motion approved by the board authorizes county staff to proceed with change‑order work if state grant officials confirm the additional work is eligible under LRIP and to apply the county’s allocated ARPA funds for the local share of non‑eligible costs.
