Madison council awards Eagan Avenue reconstruction contract to Winter Contracting

The Madison City Council voted to award the Eagan Avenue reconstruction contract to Winter Contracting, approving the base bid plus bid alternates 1, 4 and 6 at a regular meeting. The work covers full street reconstruction north of downtown, including utilities, sidewalks, street surfacing, lighting and an eight-foot shared-use path along the east side of the street.

A city staff member told the council the project has been on the agenda for several years and said, “This is a full reconstruct on the street, including utilities, street surfacing, sidewalk replacement, lighting,” and described an 8-foot shared-use path planned for the east side. The staff member said the city received nine competitive bids; the apparent low bidder was Winter Contracting. The staff member said the base bid was about $4,300,000 and that the project had been priced favorably.

The council approved three bid alternates in addition to the base bid. Staff described alternate 1 as adding four inches of aggregate base course, geotextile fabric and an 8-inch scarify-and-recompact of the subgrade; alternate 2 would have used a 12-inch cement-stabilized subgrade. Staff and engineering consultant KLJ recommended alternate 1 over alternate 2 as the lower-cost, equivalent option. For surfacing, staff said the council needed to choose between alternate 3 (a 5-inch asphalt concrete composite over 6 inches of aggregate base) and alternate 4 (7-inch non-reinforced portland cement concrete pavement over 4 inches of aggregate base); staff recommended alternate 4. Alternate 6 provides ornamental street lighting suitable for the city’s historic district; staff said it recommended alternate 6 over alternate 5 (standard street lighting).

On funding, the staff member said the city had secured State Revolving Fund (SRF) financing and that earlier SRF allocations for the project were about $5,300,000 but that the favorable bids meant the city would likely use less. The staff member said SRF-eligible funding for the project would be about $3,400,000 under current estimates, leaving roughly $2,500,000 for the city to finance through budgeted cash or a bond anticipation note (a borrowing option with a $5,000,000 maximum available to the city). The staff member said the two-year project timeline would begin in May 2025 with completion by the end of 2026.

A representative of the Concrete Paving Association, Jason Reeves, addressed the council during public comment in favor of concrete pavement. Reeves said he had driven to attend the meeting and that “I appreciate the city's consideration in the concrete paving bid in this project,” adding he expected to be involved as the Eagan Avenue project progresses. A council member replied that comparisons of existing streets led staff to recommend concrete for its maintenance, longevity and appearance on this main street.

The motion to award the base contract and alternates 1, 4 and 6 to Winter Contracting carried; the council called the vote verbally and the presiding officer announced the motion carried. No written dissent or a recorded roll-call vote with individual member votes was provided in the transcript.

The council noted the project’s major elements, financing options and schedule; staff will proceed with contract administration and construction scheduling following the award.