Waynesburg to look at rebidding Meadowlark Bridge project
Waynesburg Borough Council is exploring rebidding the Meadowlark Bridge replacement project after estimates came in higher than anticipated.
The original bid from Aliquippa-based Stefanik’s Next Generation had been around $190,000, said Rich Rush, project engineer of the Harshman CE Group. That number was bumped upwards after Norfolk Southern Railroad, which leases the property to the borough, requested full-depth shoring with steel pilings along the railroad side of the bridge to provide structural support.
Instead of the shoring, which Rush said would have cost around $150,000 to $200,000, Harshman proposed caissons with abutments. The four-foot-wide concrete pillars require five or six feet of digging, Rush said.
Norfolk Southern approved the drawings for the concept, which Rush said had an estimated cost of $80,000 to $100,000.
After resubmitting the designs to Stefanik’s, Rush received a quote of $377,000 — about twice the extra cost anticipated.
Rush said the $150,000 cost for caissons and abutments was likely a combination of underbidding for the original design and additional costs due to delays, Rush said.
Because it’s still substantially the same project, rebidding isn’t required, said borough Solicitor Adam Belletti.
“I think you might have a leg to stand on if you wanted to, but I don’t think we need to,” he said.
The council authorized Rush to reach out to contractors first to see if it would be worth rebidding the project.
While Rush suspects rebidding would be cheaper, if the borough rebids, it’s stuck with the new price, he said.
“If they come in and say, ‘Hey, it’s going to be $350,000, then go with the $377,000. It’s not worth the bid,” he said. “If they come in and say it’s $300,000, you save $77,000.”
The bridge crosses over to Meadowlark Park and Waynesburg’s sewage plant. Youth baseball games normally taking place in the park were held elsewhere this year.