HASTINGS, Minn. - The team of Lunda/Ames likely will be the contractor for the new state Highway 61 Bridge here.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation made the announcement late Friday afternoon.
The Lunda/Ames team scored 93.22 out of a possible 100 points on its technical proposal, with a best value bid of $119,830,890.
The number is not a misprint, assures MnDOT project manager Steve Kordosky. It is very much under the $220-million cap that MnDOT set for the project.
"This is a very competitive market," Kordosky said. "It is a conservative figure in our estimation."
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The next month will be spent going through documents and preparing the final contract. The contract is expected after July 4, Kordosky said.
"Now that we have an apparent best value bidder, we anticipate a final contract in three to five weeks," he said.
At that time, the design for the bridge - cable or arch - also will be revealed.
The Lunda Construction Co. in Black River Falls, Wis., was founded in 1938 and saw its largest growth starting in 1956 with the Interstate Highway Program. The company has been family-owned since 1968, according to company information.
The company has completed other projects for MnDOT, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Wisconsin Central System and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, including the Interstate 94 bridge over the St. Croix River in Hudson, Wis., the Wabasha Street bridge over the Mississippi River in St. Paul, a bridge crossing the Mississippi River in LaCrosse, Wis., and the Maple Oregon Life bridge in Sturgeon Bay, Wis.
Ames Construction Inc. began operations in 1960 in Burnsville, Minn., according to company information.
The company has built airports, bridges, highways, rail lines, power plants, water treatment plants and golf courses in Minnesota, Colorado, Arizona, southern Nevada, Utah and Wyoming.
The other two contractors that had been considered for the bridge project were Flatiron/Kiewit and PCL/Edward.
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The best-value bid is a combination of the technical scores and the design/build (cable or arch bridge design) costs When the bid packages were submitted to MnDOT, officials made their technical evaluation first.
The bridge construction is scheduled to begin this year.
Surfacing, railings, and the bridge itself are expected to be ready for use by October 2013.
Again this week, MnDOT stressed the existing Highway 61 bridge will remain open throughout the duration of the construction. When the first two lanes of the new bridge are completed, they will be put into use, along with the existing bridge. The final two lanes will then be constructed.
Jane Lightbourn is a reporter at the Hastings (Minn.) Star-Gazette, which is owned by Forum Communications Co.
