Decorah council awards $2.815 million contract for Hively Street improvements

The Decorah City Council voted to award the contract for the Decorah 2026 Hively Street Improvement Project to Skyline Construction Inc., accepting the company’s low bid of $2,815,109.22.

City staff told the council the project includes a roundabout at the intersection of Heidley, Claiborne and River streets, full-depth reconstruction of Hively Street east to State Street, and replacement of underground infrastructure in the project area. According to staff, the city received three bids and Skyline’s price came in about $284,890.78 under the engineer’s $3,100,000 estimate.

Travis, the staff member who presented the item, said public hearings were held as required by Iowa law for horizontal infrastructure projects with an engineer’s estimate over $62,000 and that the city had received no written objections. He told the council the city’s preference is to complete the work in a single construction season, coordinated with the new elementary school’s construction schedule, and that financing would be through general obligation bonds.

Neil made the motion to award the contract; Whittle seconded. The council proceeded to a roll-call vote and the motion passed.

The city manager’s office and project engineer will oversee preconstruction scheduling; staff cautioned the public to expect road closures in the project area when work begins and advised drivers to plan alternate routes.

The contract award was the actionable decision following the public hearing; the council did not receive or record written objections during the hearing. The project schedule provided by staff anticipates a one-year construction cycle with work beginning in spring to align with school construction.

Next steps: staff will finalize contract documents and coordinate mobilization with the contractor and school construction schedule. Specific start dates and detour plans will be posted by the city ahead of construction.