Board receives two bids for 65th Street improvements, refers review to engineering consultant

The Hammond City Board of Public Works and Safety on March 26 received two bids for the 65th Street improvement project from Kennedy Avenue to Grand Avenue and referred them to the city’s consultant for detailed review.

Clerk announced a bid of $1,935,417 from Milestone Contractors of Griffith and a base bid recorded in the meeting as $1,533,746.90 from the contractor appearing in the record as Reeth/Reap Riley. Staff noted that the second bidder had listed a base price and an alternate; the board agreed to accept the submitted documents and asked the consultant to clarify any discrepancies and include alternates in its recommendation.

A city staff member explained that the project is tied to the Community Crossings matching-grant program and said the Indiana Department of Transportation had urged the city to receive bids now (but not award immediately) because the state legislature recently approved additional program funding. “We were notified by the Indiana Department of Transportation that we should go ahead and bid this project, but yet not award it,” the staff member said. He added that the legislature approved a $75 million increase to the program and that, combining that increase with previously available funds, the state had roughly $95 million available for additional work in the program.

Board member (speaker 3) moved to forward the bids to First Group Engineering for review, tabulation and a recommendation; the motion was concurred by the Chair. The record shows no award or contract approval at the meeting; the board’s action was limited to receiving the bids and initiating a consultant review.

The consultant’s review will determine low-responsible bidder status, resolve the base-plus-alternate pricing question, and flag any irregularities before the city returns for a contract award decision.