1st Street bid comes in lower than expected

The Aurora City Council awarded a bid to complete the planned renovation of 1st Street to Mid-Nebraska Land Developers of Aurora last week, noting that the project will also include construction of a Grant Street intersection which will provide access to the new Streeter Fifth Addition.
City leaders announced the project in March as a major renovation of the busy 1st Street corridor stretching from the Highway 34 intersection to the railroad tracks south of the school. The initial estimate for the project was listed at $5.6 million, and more recently amended to $4.5 million. When the envelopes were unsealed at an earlier meeting, the low base bid from Mid-Nebraska came in considerably lower at $3,013,028. Other bidders included Van Kirk Brothers Construction of Sutton at $3,285,521; A&R Construction Co. of Plainview at $3,315,066; and CL Construction LLC of Lincoln at $3,603,572.
Payton Best, an engineer with JEO Consulting Group of Grand Island, reported to the council that an alternate bid was also sought for the project, based on an amendment filed by the council in April. Mid-Nebraska’s alternate bid was listed at $311,352, bringing the total project cost to $3,324,380.
Best also noted that based on heavier truck traffic expected at the Grant Street intersection, JEO was recommending an additional change to include six or seven inches of pavement, rather than the six inches that was listed in the bid. She estimated an increase of $23,000 for changing to eight inch depth, then concluded by recommending that the council accept Mid-Nebraska’s total bid.
Council members approved the bid by unanimous vote, which means work on this project could begin by July 15.
JEO engineers advised the council in April that the need for an alternate route during the construction period had been brought up several times after the project was announced, leading to the latest change. Without that change, residents living west of 1st Street would have limited options for getting to and from their homes during certain phases of construction.
“In discussion with contractors, internally, we talked about extending the Grant Street entrance on the south side of the highway to see if we could tie that into this subdivision,” JEO’s Andrew Wilshusen told the council during its March 26 meeting. “There would be a lot of benefits to do this while we are doing construction of 1st Street as this would provide an outlet during construction to help eliminate any inconvenience throughout the construction project.”
The amendment involved the sanitary sewer, water main, storm sewer and paving improvements in the Streeter Subdivision from the intersection of Highlander Lane and Matson Street to the Grant Street intersection on Highway 34.
Also during the May 14 meeting, the council approved the final plat for Streeter’s Fifth Addition, at the request of Streeter LLC. Zoning Administrator Adam Darbro reported that the Aurora Planning Commission approved the plat, and there was no additional comment offered during a brief public hearing.
Regarding that same addition to the large housing subdivision just west of 1st Street, the council approved the first reading of an ordinance that would annex the Streeter Fifth Addition into the city limits. Three readings are required for annexation, thus that action will not be final until June.
Another agenda item sought the council’s approval for the mayor to enter into a subdivision agreement with Streeter LLC for Streeter’s Fifth. City Administrator Rick Melcher explained briefly that the agreement outlines which aspects of the development the city and Streeter LLC are responsible for, respectively. He said the city will oversee construction, making sure that all street, water and sewer work is built to city standards. He noted that the street will be 30 feet wide.
In other action, the council:
* approved a request for an administrative change for several lots in the Preston Subdivision and Preston 2nd Subdivision, based on a request from the Wortman Trust. The vote to approve was unanimous, with Councilman Dick Phillips abstaining.