Graham County approves access agreement and opens bids for Tally Wash crossing

Graham County on Jan. 5 approved a temporary workspace license with Freeport McMoRan that will let contractors construct a two-lane temporary bypass and use a laydown yard for the Tally Wash crossing improvement project. County engineering director Eric Engel described the agreement as necessary to build an all-weather crossing intended to reduce the flood hazard at Tally Wash.

The board noted the project has an appropriation of $1,800,000 for construction and related work. After opening bids, county staff read five proposals: CS Construction $1,458,546.59; Show Low Construction $1,565,381.54; Ames Construction $1,665,981.25; Judco LLC $2,231,322; and Meridian Engineering Company $2,263,204. The board praised engineering staff for producing a closely priced set of bids.

A supervisor moved to forward the bids to county staff for review and to award the contract to the lowest responsible bidder after that review; the motion passed. Vice Chairman David and others emphasized that staff would check for bidder responsibility and possible mitigation for traffic and staging impacts in advance of award. The board also thanked Freeport McMoRan for allowing temporary use of the company’s property during construction.

The next step is staff review of bids and a formal award recommendation. The board did not set an exact contract award date at the meeting.