Danbury board rejects over-budget bridge bids, approves contingency award and two paving contracts

Chip Volk, Danbury’s purchasing agent, opened the Board of Awards meeting on April 1 and recommended rejecting the bids for bid number 1225.601, the rehabilitation of Kennedy Avenue Bridge (Bridge 04176), saying the submitted bids exceeded the project budget. "This was a rebid…we got 2 bids," Volk said, and identified a low bid from New England Infrastructure at $3,058,650 as over budget.

An agency official speaking for engineering staff backed the recommendation to reject, saying that "even with the reduction in the scope…bids came in higher" and describing the Kennedy Avenue Bridge as "deteriorating, terribly," with a risk of reduced vehicle capacity or closure if repairs are not made. After brief discussion, the board voted to reject all bids for the rehabilitation project; the transcript records the motion as carried but does not provide a full roll-call tally.

The board then considered a separate proposal from Hemlock Construction dated March 30, 2026, to perform improvements on Bridge 04176 with a total proposed price of $2,816,835.09. Staff described using a cooperative procurement vehicle (referred to in the transcript as the "Gordian" bid) to obtain a lower net price than the rebid, and recommended awarding the work to Hemlock contingent upon execution of the necessary contract and any applicable exemption or cooperative agreement. A motion to award Hemlock Construction on that basis was made and seconded and was approved; the transcript indicates the award is contingent on contract execution and administrative steps.

Later the board addressed the annual unit-price bid for paving-in-place and related services for the 2026 paving season. Staff reported six bids and that Tim Nolan had performed a quantity-based analysis projecting 2026 needs; Asphalt Repair Solutions was calculated as the low bidder and American Pavement Specialists as the second-low bidder. A board member moved to award contracts to both Asphalt Repair Solutions and American Paving Specialists, contingent on contract execution, noting the city previously split similar work between two firms to manage schedule and workload. The motion passed; the transcript records at least one dissenting vote but does not provide a complete roll-call tally.

The meeting closed with routine administrative exchanges about minutes and signatures. The board’s recorded actions from the meeting are: (1) rejection of the rebid for Bridge 04176 rehabilitation; (2) contingent award to Hemlock Construction for bridge improvements at $2,816,835.09; and (3) award of two annual paving contracts to Asphalt Repair Solutions and American Pavement Specialists, all contingent on contract execution and administrative approvals. The transcript contains some inconsistent or garbled procurement descriptions (see audit), and exact vote tallies are not fully recorded in the provided text.