Pompano Beach delays award for Southeast 6th Terrace bridge after lone $13.9M bid; residents press for faster timeline

City staff recommended rejecting a single construction bid for the Southeast 6th Terrace bridge replacement and re-soliciting the project in 2026, a move that sparked a heated debate among commissioners and residents on Oct. 28.

The city engineer, John Seropoulos, told the commission staff had received one bid at about $13.9 million, roughly double the project estimate, and the contractor's proposed construction schedule would not meet a hard deadline the city had requested. That deadline was intended to keep the project from overlapping with work on the McNabb Road bridge scheduled to begin in May 2026.

Seropoulos said the city had required substantial completion and re-opening to traffic before May 1, 2026, because both bridges cannot safely be taken out of service at the same time. Procurement staff had polled potential bidders before solicitation and were told the required accelerated schedule would limit competition; the bid results confirmed that concern.

"Had we gotten the Army Corps permit sooner we wouldn't be in this position," Seropoulos said, describing long federal permitting delays that contributed to the compressed timetable. He recommended the city resolicit next year and perform project elements that do not require the expired permit (for example, undergrounding bridge-hanging utilities) while avoiding the risk of two bridges being out of service simultaneously.

Vice Mayor Lisonbee Fournier and several Garden Isles residents told the commission they favored awarding a contract now and paying a premium to finish the work faster. Fournier said the neighborhood had been promised a raised bridge for years and urged commissioners to prioritize completing the replacement quickly rather than waiting and risking higher future costs and another delay for residents.

"I don't think that bridge can be down as long as the Fifth Avenue bridge was," Fournier said, adding that compressed schedules are costly but that a longer closure would be a major disruption for the neighborhood.

Commissioners split on the next step. Several members said staff's price comparison work and the single-bid result justified re-opening the solicitation to attract more bidders and reduce cost. Others pointed to prior contracts and rising construction costs and questioned whether rebidding would yield significantly lower prices.

Commissioner Seagerstein Eaton argued the commission should not approve paying double the expected cost and supported staff's recommendation to reject the bid and re-solicit. Commissioner Smith and others similarly said they preferred to follow staff advice and avoid committing to a contract at the lone bid price.

After extended discussion, the commission considered a motion to reopen the procurement and bring a resolution to the commission to consider awarding the contract. A roll-call on reopening the bid produced no final award; commissioners were split. The commission directed staff to return with a resolution and full backup for a vote at a future meeting. Staff also said that reapplying for the U.S. Army Corps permit should be straightforward because the plans would not change, but noted resubmittal still requires a benthic (seagrass) survey that can be done only in certain months.

Public safety, permit timing and procurement process controls emerged as central concerns. Several residents said the existing bridge is functionally obsolete, poses safety risks for residents and first responders, and has been an unresolved promise for decades; they urged the commission to find a path to finish the work. City staff and the commission agreed to return to the issue with more detailed backup to let commissioners weigh alternatives and any fund balance or financing options.

What happened next: the commission asked staff to reopen procurement and to bring a formal contract resolution back to the commission for consideration with full documentation, cost comparisons and financing options.