High and Low: Bids Received for Pedestrian Crosswalks and Sidewalks

High Bids: Pedestrian Crosswalks (top) versus Low Bids: Pedestrian Sidewalks (bottom)

Newtown Township recently received contractor bids for two projects: (1) Silo Dr/N Sycamore St and Tara Blvd/Newtown-Yardley Rd crosswalk safety upgrades and (2) Business Commons sidewalks. One received HIGH bids above budget and the other received LOW bids under budget as follows:

The High

The township received a total of two (2) bids for the crosswalks as follows:

T. Schiefer Contractors, Inc.
- Base Bid - $391,915
- Alternate Bid No. 1 (decorative poles) - $117,000
- TOTAL: $508,915 (LOW BID)
Armour & Sons Electric, Inc.
- Base Bid - $437,445
- Alternate Bid No. 1 (decorative poles) - $103,125
- TOTAL: $540,570

Note that the township received an Automated Red Light Enforcement (ARLE) Grant of $326,931 for this project. An additional $50,000 is available from another grant. The total funds available from grants for this project is $376,931. Consequently, an additional $131,984 must be found given that the low bid is HIGHER than the funds available from grants alone.

The Township engineers (Remington Vernick, aka RVE) have started to review all the submitted documentation and will have a recommendation for award as soon as possible. The bids need to be submitted to ARLE Funding for their review and approval as part of the grant contract.

I suspect that the township administration will nix the alternate portion of the project; i.e., the decorative poles. This would be unfortunate because the Borough recently completed a crosswalk upgrade at the Lincoln Ave/Washington Ave intersection that includes decorative poles (read “Major Upgrade To Begin At #NewtownPA Borough Intersection”). The township, IMHO, would look cheap if it did not do the same.

The Low

Meanwhile, bids for the Business Commons sidewalk project came in LOW.

The township received a total of five (5) bids for the sidewalks as follows:

Albert G. Cipolloni Jr. & Sons, Inc.: $597,724.40
G&B Construction: $564,996.00
NJS Concrete: $488,880.00 (LOW BID)
Reamstown Excavating Inc.: $597,525.00
T. Schiefer Contractors, Inc.: $701,185.00

The township was awarded a grant award of $873,000 for this project, which although less than the $994,920 originally requested, it is more than adequate to cover the cost! Unfortunately, the excess funds probably must be returned to the granting agency rather than being used for the crosswalk project.

RVE has reviewed the NJS Concrete bid submission documents and found no discrepancies and have sent the bid tabulation and request for approval to PennDOT. Assuming they have no issues with awarding it to NJS, RVE will be requesting recommendation to award the contract to them.

More About These Projects

Posted on 02 Oct 2024, 01:31 - Category: Public Safety