fuzzis
01-17-2008, 09:38 AM
Expansion getting pricey (http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080117/NEWS01/801170317)
..."The whole purpose of the projects have been to do parallel routes and upgrade the approaches north and south of 98," Walker said.
The West Fourth Street project has been on the board for years, but sufficient funding was unavailable until Congress passed a highway bill three years ago. That allowed the county to accumulate money for various road projects, including West Fourth.
The initial estimate was about $2.25 million, with about $1.7 million coming from federal funds. But after revisiting its design plan, the county upped its estimate to more than $2.8 million when it asked for bids on the project.
"There were a lot more drainage issues there and that played into it," Walker said of the increase.
But in May, the county was disappointed when only one contractor submitted a bid, and it came in at $3.5 million, or about 25 percent over what had been budgeted.
Part of the difference: long-lingering residual effects spawned by Hurricane Katrina, which drove up material costs and thinned available contractors....
Wonder what impact this (http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8U5TMDG1.htm) is going to have on cost of future projects.
..."The whole purpose of the projects have been to do parallel routes and upgrade the approaches north and south of 98," Walker said.
The West Fourth Street project has been on the board for years, but sufficient funding was unavailable until Congress passed a highway bill three years ago. That allowed the county to accumulate money for various road projects, including West Fourth.
The initial estimate was about $2.25 million, with about $1.7 million coming from federal funds. But after revisiting its design plan, the county upped its estimate to more than $2.8 million when it asked for bids on the project.
"There were a lot more drainage issues there and that played into it," Walker said of the increase.
But in May, the county was disappointed when only one contractor submitted a bid, and it came in at $3.5 million, or about 25 percent over what had been budgeted.
Part of the difference: long-lingering residual effects spawned by Hurricane Katrina, which drove up material costs and thinned available contractors....
Wonder what impact this (http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8U5TMDG1.htm) is going to have on cost of future projects.