CHARLESTON, WV – Replacement of an aging Webster County bridge is among the projects included in a bid letting conducted by the West Virginia Division of Highways on Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021.
The project will be paid for with funding from Gov. Jim Justice’s Roads to Prosperity highway construction and maintenance program.
WVDOH is reviewing the bids and hopes to award contracts for these projects soon.
District 7 Bridge Engineer Chad Boram, P.E., said one of the projects will replace a bridge on Skyles Creek in Webster County. Built in 1950, the bridge on WV 82 carries more than 500 cars a day, and provides access from much of western Webster County to US 19.
“It’s a major point of access into Webster County,” Boram said.
But the bridge had fallen into disrepair, and is due to be replaced. Boram said a temporary bridge will be built just upstream of the existing structure while a new bridge is built.
Using Roads to Prosperity funding to pay for the replacement allows a new bridge to be built much sooner than would ordinarily be possible.
The Aug. 10 letting included the following projects:
Lt. Darwin K. Kyle Memorial Bridge replacement (Boone County)
Shepherdstown ADA ramp project (Jefferson County)
Clarksburg lighting upgrades on US 50 (Harrison County)
Statewide railroad road markers
Pennsylvania Avenue ADA ramps (Kanawha County)
Bigley Avenue ADA ramps (Kanawha County)
Dupont Road traffic signal renovations (Wood County)
Boggs Run Bridge cleaning and painting (Marshall County)
Mill Street traffic signal renovations (Marion County)
Frame Road traffic signal replacement (Kanawha County)
Rock Cliff roundabout project (Berkeley County)
Princeton Main Street sidewalk project (Mercer County)
New Buzzard Ford Bridge cleaning and painting (Hardy County)
Wheeling Suspension bridge painting and lighting project (Ohio County)
Old Turnpike intersection warning signs (Nicholas County)
Alum Cave Trail restoration (Barbour County)
Rock Creek access road to development site (Boone County)
Athens Park Trail construction (Mercer County)
Glenville sidewalk renovations (Gilmer County)
I-64 overpass bridge cleaning and painting (Cabell County)
Pleasant Valley Sidewalk construction (Marion County)
Pleasant Valley Sidewalk construction #2 (Marion County)
Lanta to Quinland Road resurfacing (Mingo County)
Salt Rock to Sarah resurfacing (Cabell County)
I-79 overpass bridge cleaning and painting (Harrison County)
Larry Hacker Memorial Bridge cleaning and painting (Ritchie County)
Green Sulphur to Dawson Road resurfacing (Summers County)
Harts Run Bridge deck overlay (Greenbrier County)
Surveyor to Crab Orchard resurfacing (Raleigh County)
Skyles Creek Bridge replacement (Webster County) (Roads to Prosperity)
Webster Springs Road resurfacing and drainage (Webster County)
Camden to Weston Road resurfacing and drainage (Lewis County)
Wallow Hole Bridge replacement (Clay County)
Westover Bridge pier and deck joint replacement (Monongalia County)
Junior to Bellington Road resurfacing and drainage (Barbour County)
Several factors are considered before awarding a bid, including whether a bid falls above or below the WVDOH Engineer’s Estimate and by what percentage. In cases where a bid is above the Engineer’s Estimate, WVDOH must consider the project need, repercussions of not awarding the project, additional funding sources, and whether or not sufficient reasons exist for the differences in estimates. Most projects are reviewed, analyzed, and awarded within a week of the bid letting, but the process can take longer.
When the Division of Highways has a project that is determined to be best constructed by a contractor, it is processed through the bid letting system. A letting is a scheduled opportunity for contractors to review and bid on several construction projects at one time. Lettings are held either once or twice per month and conducted through the Bid Express System online at www.bidx.com and handled through the Contract Administration Division. Contractors need to subscribe to Bid Express before bids can be accepted on any project.
As the date and time approach the deadline of the letting, contractors are expected to place their bids, with complete documentation as necessary. Shortly after the letting, the respective bids are reviewed. All bids are evaluated thoroughly for competitiveness and deemed acceptable through guidelines as approved by policy, reviewed, and approved by the FHWA. Award of the contracts is made based on the recommendation by our Awards Committee based on the results that evaluation and approval by the Commissioner. Projects are typically awarded to the lowest bidder which has all proper documentation in place.
