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Commission awards Road 16 box‑culvert concrete work to Workman Contracting to meet winter deadline
Summary
The commission approved awarding the Road 16 box‑culvert concrete contract to Workman Contracting after a lower bidder could not start for a month; commissioners also reviewed federal and state grant timelines and local road maintenance needs.
The Big Horn County Commission on Oct. 21 approved awarding the concrete work for a box culvert on Road 16 to Workman Contracting so the project can be completed before winter.
Bridges, the county engineer who presented the bids, said Builds All submitted the low bid at $34,500 but could not begin for about a month. Workman Contracting submitted a higher bid of $38,838 but could start immediately, and the commission approved awarding the work to Workman by consensus to avoid weather‑related delays.
Bridges also told commissioners that he has been filling out the Federal BUILD/RAISE agreement template for the Orchard Bench Road project, which requires schedules and budgets. He said the federal shutdown may slow processing but noted the grant must be obligated by Nov. 2029 and the current plan is to complete the project by 2028. Bridges said a request for proposals for engineering services will be issued once funding is secured.
The commission was also told the emergency SLIB grant request for the Red Gulch Road Bridge was not eligible for emergency funding and will be moved to a regular SLIB meeting in February. Bridges said the match requirement changes from a 20% emergency match to a 50% match for the regular program and that he will review the County Road fund to determine whether a local match is available or whether the request must be delayed.
Other Road & Bridge updates included notice that culverts for the Sidon Irrigation Road crossings should arrive in mid‑December and that a crushing project bid letting is underway with 10 plan sets distributed. Hovey reported he had repaired road damage resulting from Greybull Heights waterline work and recommended the county bill for those repairs. Mann reported that the welders on service trucks are near end of life and that replacement will likely be delayed because of funding constraints.
Bridges said WYOBEN has recently approached landowners seeking a haul road and, after a denial, asked the county about using Road 20; Bridges said Road 20 currently has no restrictions and that WYOBEN typically maintains roads it hauls on, so no immediate county action was required. Commissioners discussed fencing on Road 5 after Mrs. Gams raised concerns about a gap; Bridges said the opening is a safety issue and Mann noted counters are collecting traffic data for further review. No formal action was taken on the fencing concern.
The commission’s decision to proceed with the Workman contract was framed as a schedule and safety decision to ensure winter conditions do not prevent project completion.
