PORT TOWNSEND — Work on adding a portion of Howard Street to connect Sims Way and Discovery Road will begin as soon as the contract is awarded, possibly next week, City Manager David Timmons said.
“We are ready to go and can begin as soon as the bid is approved,” he said.
Howard Street currently ends about 800 feet north of Sims Way and 400 feet south of Discovery Road.
The extension project will connect the two major thoroughfares by extending Howard Street. It includes the construction of a roundabout where the extension meets Discovery Road.
It is expected to turn 82 acres of vacant and underutilized land into shovel-ready industrial property.
The Port Townsend City Council has granted approval for Timmons to award the contract.
The deadline for bids was last Thursday. Timmons opened the bids when they were received and is currently evaluating them with the intention of awarding the contract sometime next week.
The project is estimated to take 185 days, about six months, and carried an engineer’s estimate of $4.4 million to $4.7 million.
The four bidders, from lowest to highest, were Seton Construction, Port Townsend, $3.2 million; Strider Construction, Bellingham, $4.3 million; Interwest Construction, Burlington, $4.4 million; and IMCO General Construction, Ferndale, $4.6 million.
While each bid must be examined for approval, policy requires the contract be offered to the lowest qualified bidder.
The project requires grading and paving a new roadway, installing municipal and franchise utilities, drainage, pedestrian improvements and landscaping, according to a call for bids.
Seton, the apparent low bidder, is currently working on the construction of a new city water treatment facility near where the roundabout is to be built, so the company could “step right in” and begin the construction, Timmons said.
The first step in the process will be to install the underground utilities, he said.
Construction was scheduled to begin early this summer but was thwarted by the clarification of a clerical error on the last right-of-way acquisition, Timmons said.
The city purchased portions of nine properties to make room for the new road, with the last purchase finalized earlier this week, he said.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
