High bids stall Route W extension project, likely until spring

Missouri Department of Transportation plans to extend Route W have been stalled, likely until spring, by the bidding process.

The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission rejected both of the bids submitted for improvements to Route W in Cape Girardeau at its regular meeting July 8.

The bids exceeded the MoDOT budget of about $2.2 million for the project, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. ASA Asphalt Inc. of Advance, Mo., submitted a bid of $3,531,626. Apex Paving Co. in Cape Girardeau bid $2,827,327.82 for the contract.

Roger Poythress, general manager of ASA Asphalt, said the tight schedule for the project was a primary factor in his bid amount. The contract called for completion in early December, which would have required him to pay employees for overtime, he said. He said he was also concerned about the possibility of a wet fall.

Poythress said he was unsure whether he would bid on the project again when bids are reopened in September. He said Apex Paving Co. submitted a competitive bid and that he does not think MoDOT will get a better price. Apex Paving Co. regional manager Glen Graham said there was nothing unusual that increased the cost of his bid and that he is not sure why it exceeded the MoDOT budget. Graham said he will rebid in the fall.

Andy Meyer, MoDOT project manager for the Route W improvements, said it became clear that the original schedule was a problem for contractors and contributed to higher bids.

"Just trying to force it all done by the end of this year was very aggressive, and we realized that we needed to take a step back and give them a little bit more time. So we're going to do that," Meyer said.

He said he thinks the new schedule, which slates construction to start in the spring and finish by winter 2010, will elicit lower bids. The work taking place at the beginning of a construction season rather than at the end might decrease bid amounts and increase the number of bidders, Meyer said.

The project will extend four miles along Route W from Lexington Avenue to the new LaSalle Avenue. Meyer said there has been an increase in traffic on the road in recent years, and the improvements are designed to increase safety.

There have been a number of cases of motorists dropping one wheel off the edge of the road and then overcorrecting and swerving off the other side, he said. Shoulders with rumble strips will be added to warn drivers when they are nearing the edge and give them time to respond.

In addition to the shoulder improvements, the road will be resurfaced, centerline rumble strips will be added, the intersections at County Road 620 and Perryville Road will be widened and given islands and two box culverts will be replaced or extended to improve drainage structures.

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