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All that was missing was a drum roll.
After months of discussion and numbers crunching, the construction bid for the Argonne Road revitalization project was awarded to Red Diamond Construction of Spokane Valley at the Millwood City Council meeting on Monday – at a sum considerably less than anticipated.
Initially, Welch-Comer Engineers, the project’s design team, had estimated the building portion of the work at around $1.02 million. The winning bid came in at just under $823,000.
“We’re seeing low bids on a lot of our projects recently,” said Jacki Fullerton, a project and marketing administrator with Welch-Comer who represented the engineering firm at the April 6 meeting.
Fullerton added that the Argonne proposal was typical of a climate that has seen bids “come in at $100,000 to $300,000 lower than estimates.”
The extensive upgrade of Argonne is scheduled to begin this spring. Buoyed by a $1.3 million grant from the Washington Department of Transportation, there are plans to resurface a section of the roadway from Frederick to Riverway, install a new concrete intersection at the juncture of Euclid and Empire and add sidewalks and wheelchair ramps. An additional $120,000 grant from the state Transportation Improvement Board will help with other pedestrian improvements.
While the WSDOT funds are allotted for design work, construction phase services and the actual construction itself, Millwood Mayor Dan Mork speculated that the low bid from Red Diamond may make it possible for the city to cover additional improvements further to the south.
“This looks very promising,” added Council Member Richard Schoen.
Matt Gillis of Welch-Comer who is serving as the project manager for the Argonne job, said expansion of the upgrade is “a possibility.” Any additional improvements would need to be approved by WSDOT and the Federal Highway Administration.
In February, the Millwood City Council approved various aspects of the project including a daily construction schedule from 7 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. Side streets will be closed during the work to prevent traffic jams. Gillis estimated that construction would likely take 60 to 70 working days with the launch of the project tentatively set for the third week of April.
Mork has mentioned the possibility of reducing the speed along Argonne from 30 mph to 25 mph after the improvements are in place. The impetus for the resurfacing work originated from a concern that the main arterial – now a heavily traveled north/south thoroughfare – was, in Mork’s words, “dividing the town.”
On Monday night, Millwood resident Rick Meyer recommended that City Council look at raising the speed limit to 35 mph and putting in additional turn lanes. Lowering the speed limit, Meyer argued, has the potential to back up traffic and negatively impact businesses along Argonne.
Council Member Glenn Bailey disagreed.
“I’ve been an advocate for lowering the speed limit,” Bailey said. “The fact is if you raise the speed limit, those businesses might as well close their doors. Faster traffic is not good for the city of Millwood.”
On the commerce front, Gillis and Mork have met with the Millwood Better for Business group, a collection of local property owners and merchants, many of whom will be affected by the upheaval along Argonne. Gillis said Welch-Comer, hired by the city to handle construction management services, is dedicated to making the project flow as smoothly as possible. Newsletters will be printed every two weeks with updates on the work, Gillis said.
“We’ll do everything we can to listens to concerns and mitigate any problems that arise,” Gillis added.
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By
Craig Howard
