City rejects both bids for 7.3 mile Auburn Way North overlay project as beyond budget, staff to take fresh look, cut costs and try again
It called for a thick asphalt grind and overlay to restore and preserve 7.3 miles of Auburn Way North between 22nd Street Northeast and 45th Street Northeast.
But on Tuesday, July 5, the Auburn City Council rejected the $2 million and $1.9 million bids it had received from contractors interested in the Auburn Way North project because both of them came in so high above the City engineer’s estimate they exceeded the $1.9 million the City had available for the work.
Indeed, the lowest responsible bid was 23 percent above the City engineer’s estimate.
In the coming weeks, City Engineer Ingrid Gaub said before the unanimous vote, staff will take a fresh look at the project to cut costs before repackaging and re-advertising it at a future date.
“This is a federally-funded project, and we can go back and talk to the state about whether we can revise any of the scope of the project to reduce that down and get it within the funds available. Or, we can delay until next year. Part of what we are hearing from the contractors is that the lateness of the bid has factored into the cost,” Gaub said, noting state-mandated costs that factored in as well.
“This project seems very significant for this year, and to delay it another year …” began City Councilman Bill Peloza.
Gaub said the only options the council had were to award the lowest responsible bidder or to reject the entire bid.
“To award the lowest responsible bidder you would need about a half million dollars more in funding, and that would require us to put something else in [the fund] on hold,” Gaub said.
In addition to the grind and overlay, the project called for upgrades to 33 curb ramps to meet current ADA standards, replacing unused driveways with sidewalks, the replacement of pedestrian signal infrastructure at four intersections to comply with current ADA standards, removing and replacing a signal pole, and roadway re-striping.
