Bids are opened for downtown bridge

The bridge rehabilitation is 90 percent federally funded.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Two companies came within 31,000 of each other and within 48,000 of the Mahoning County engineer's estimate when their bids were opened for the rehabilitation of the Spring Common Bridge.
That bridge spans the Mahoning River at the west end of the city's downtown, linking Fifth Avenue and West Federal Street with Mahoning Avenue.
The apparent low bidder Wednesday for the two-year project was Great Lakes Construction Co. of Hinckley at 5,164,226, which came in just below the 5,195,000 bid from A.P. O'Horo Co. of Liberty. The county engineer's office had estimated 5,147,704 for the work, which will begin about a month from now.
The county engineer's office will evaluate the bids before it makes a recommendation to the county commissioners concerning a contract award.
State law requires the commissioners to award the contract to the lowest and best bidder or the lowest and most-responsible bidder who is responsive to the bid specifications.
Details of project
The project includes replacement of the bridge's deck, sidewalks and outside railings and painting the span, said county Engineer Richard A. Marsico. The 268-foot-long steel arch of the 1949-vintage bridge's main span will be preserved.
The federal government is paying 90 percent of the project cost and the county engineer's office is paying the other 10 percent, said Randy Partika, county bridge engineer.
One lane of traffic will be maintained in each direction on the six-lane bridge during construction, except that the bridge will be completely closed for two separate one-week periods, one in late fall and the other next spring, to eliminate vibration while the new concrete deck is being poured and cured on each side of the bridge.
Motorists may experience rush-hour delays during the construction and may use the Marshall or Market street bridges for alternative access to the city's downtown, Marsico said.
When the county sought bids two months ago, there were no bidders. Marsico attributed that to an outside engineering consultant's underestimating the project cost by almost 1.2 million because it failed to account for inflation in construction costs.