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Benton County rejects Rice pedestrian crossing bids, moves forward with Mayhew Lake roundabout award contingent on DBE review
Summary
County engineers recommended rejecting bids for a Rice railroad pedestrian crossing after the low bid more than doubled the estimate; the board also approved awarding a contract for the Mayhew Lake Road roundabout to Knife River (2.7% over estimate), contingent on MnDOT DBE compliance and federal funding conditions.
BENTON COUNTY — Benton County engineers told the board Thursday they would reject bids for a Rice railroad pedestrian crossing after bids came in substantially over the engineer's estimate, and the board approved moving forward on a Mayhew Lake Road roundabout after receiving a higher-than-estimated but acceptable low bid.
On the Rice pedestrian crossing (Project S P005-090-005), county staff reported three responsible bids were received and the low bid, from Tyczak Concrete LLC, was $213,321.86 against an engineer estimate just above $103,000. The Rice City Council had previously voted not to move forward; county staff recommended rejecting all bids, re-advertising in the fall, and considering a winter bid opening to reduce pricing pressures. Commissioners voted to reject and re-advertise.
The board then considered bids for a roundabout at Mayhew Lake Road (Project S P005-070-014). Several bids were received; Knife River, North Central Division, submitted the lowest responsible bid at about 2.7% above the engineer's estimate. The county's portion of the project was estimated at $2,605,440.03; the project carries federal HSIP funding of $1,940,000 and a carbon-reduction grant of $440,000. County Engineer Chris said the remaining local share would likely be covered by local-option sales tax and other local funds. He emphasized the award must be contingent on MnDOT Office of Civil Rights review for a 7.5% disadvantaged-business-enterprise (DBE) participation goal. Commissioners voted to accept the low bid and authorized the chair to sign the award contingent on the DBE review.
The Rice crossing will be re-bid with adjustments to the bid structure and timeline, and the Mayhew Lake roundabout will proceed to contracting pending state review of DBE compliance.
