Cole County awards $562,512 asphalt overlay and $667,791 chip-seal contracts

The Cole County Commission voted April 15, 2025, to award two pavement contracts: a $562,512.13 asphalt overlay contract to Higgins Asphalt Paving and a $667,791.15 chip-seal contract to Missouri Petroleum Products Company, a county staff member said.

County staff told commissioners the asphalt overlay (project number 2025-501-1) covers County Park Road, North Teal Bottom and several streets in the Deer Valley subdivision, plus two roads in the Natchez Trace area including La Charette. A staff member identified Higgins Asphalt Paving as the low bidder and said the company’s recent work in subdivisions had been “very good,” which supported recommending award to the low bidder.

The chip-seal contract (project number 2025-502-1) was awarded to Missouri Petroleum Products Company for $667,791.15. Staff said the chip-seal work is grouped geographically to reduce mobilization costs and listed roads including Landing Creek, Deer Run Road, North Teal and South Teal, Upton Railroad and Pit Road, plus North Bend Road, East Bend and South Bend in the Osage Bend area.

A county staff member told the commission the two awards together total roughly $1.23 million and came in under the county’s engineering estimates. The county had budgeted about $1.5 million for pavement projects and is also expecting a cooperative restorative-seal contract with the city of Moberly that staff estimated at about $105,000. Staff said preliminary calculations leave roughly $165,000 available for additional pavement or concrete street replacement work, depending on final invoicing and the outcome of the restorative-seal cooperative bid.

Commissioners made motions to award the contracts and to authorize signing the contracts; both motions passed on voice votes. The staff presentation noted that Higgins had been the low bidder in prior years but had not always received the award; this year staff recommended awarding to the low bidder based on recent performance and price.

The awards are procurement actions by the county; the contracts and project numbers were recorded in the meeting minutes and staff recommended grouping additional roads for contract overruns only if funds remain after all cooperative and preventative seal work is completed.