Nags Head Town staff present bids showing lower 2026 price; no award until January board meeting

NAGS HEAD — Town staff presented the results of a formal bid process for a beach nourishment project and outlined next steps, saying the apparent low bid for the 2026 construction window came in substantially below some earlier estimates.

The staff presenter summarized the procurement timeline, saying permit applications were submitted in May 2025 to the Division of Coastal Management and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, permits were issued in September, and bids were received on Nov. 13, 2025. “I’ll be glad to answer any questions that you have,” the staff member said after walking the board through the bids.

The bid structure allowed companies to propose work in two seasonal windows. Staff said three firms submitted bids: Manson Construction, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company, and Weeks Marine. For the 2026 window, Weeks Marine submitted the lowest apparent bid, with a mobilization/demobilization line item of $8,500,000, a beach‑fill unit price of $11.40 per cubic yard, and add‑alternate unit pricing of $9.50 per cubic yard. Staff reported a base‑bid total of $34,934,100 and a combined total of $36,864,100 when both additive alternates (each for an additional 100,000 cubic yards) are included.

Staff compared those figures to other offers and the engineer’s estimate, noting larger all‑in prices presented by other bidders for both 2026 and 2027 windows. For 2027, transcript figures showed Manson’s all‑in price near $44.95 million, Weeks Marine near $40.59 million, and Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company near $39.36 million. Staff also said the engineer’s estimate was referenced during the presentation; the transcript’s wording around the exact engineer’s estimate was unclear.

Staff emphasized the board was not being asked to make an award at the meeting. Instead, staff said fall‑survey results and a consultant memo will be presented at a mid‑month workshop, where financing for the project will also be discussed. The board will have an opportunity at its January meeting to consider awarding the contract to the lowest responsive, responsible bidder.

Commissioners asked brief technical questions. One commissioner said the town’s planned budget is close to the figure they had been carrying (roughly $42 million), and that the low 2026 bid was below that benchmark. A committee member asked whether the mobilization price covers repeated mobilizations if storms force contractors off site. Staff replied that suspension‑of‑work pricing is included in the bid package and that contractors price that contingency; if wave heights exceed an operational threshold (staff recalled about 6 feet), crews typically pull off the work and may move to alternate ports (staff cited past pull‑offs to Norfolk and a possible Wilmington location). Staff added that in prior projects (2019 and 2022) the town did not incur extra suspension charges, though significant delays could lead to additional costs.

Staff also noted that the town has seen substantial cost increases compared with prior nourishments: roughly a 102% increase since the 2011 project and about a 40% increase since the 2019 maintenance project. Staff identified mobilization/demobilization and per‑yard placement rates as the primary cost drivers.

The next procedural steps are the mid‑month workshop to review fall‑survey results and project financing and the January board meeting, where the board may vote to award the contract. No formal motion or vote occurred at this meeting.