PORT TOWNSEND — All four bids opened Monday for construction of the South Discovery Road Pavement Preservation Project came in over the engineer’s estimate of $440,885.70.
The project, located between milepost 3.18 and Milo Curry Road, running adjacent to the Discovery Bay Golf Club “around the large curve and along the bluff,” is meant to preserve the roadway surface by placing a hot mix of asphalt overlay along with other work for the segment of South Discovery Road.
As part of the project, road shoulders will also be widened, and the Jefferson County Public Utility District will place power infrastructure underground in the area.
The county’s Assistant Public Works Director Eric Kuzma and Project Management Engineer John Wayland opened the sealed bids during the Jefferson County commissioners’ meeting.
Bids were from Agate Asphalt of Poulsbo for $519,042.56; Granite Construction Co. of Olympia for $572,556.50; Lakeside Industries of Port Angeles for $461,321.70 and Northern Asphalt of Kingston for $618,744.58.
County Administrator Philip Morley noted that there was a range of about $150,000 variance in the bids, and Kuzma said estimates are typically based partly on how far the companies have to travel.
The project is part of the 2019-2024 Transportation Improvement Program and is item No. 3 in the 2019 annual construction program.
It is funded with a grant from the County Road Administration Board’s Rural Arterial Program at 90 percent.
The remainder of the cost will be funded from the board’s County Arterial Preservation Program.
In a phone interview, Wayland said there is “typically a 10 percent rule of thumb when accepting bids” and that Lakeside Industries is within that threshold.
The next steps are for the project team to review the bids and for the commissioners award the contract.
Wayland said he hopes this can be done quickly. He said that while the schedule has not been set, the work is estimated to take 30 days to complete.
Commissioner Kate Dean was pleased to know the wider shoulders will “provide a little more comfort and safety for cyclists in the area” who use the Larry Scott Trail, which crosses Discovery Road near where the project begins and where it ends at Milo Curry Road.
________
Jefferson County Editor/Reporter Jeannie McMacken can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jmcmacken@peninsuladailynews.com.
