Bike path projects stalled by high bids

By RICHARD HANNERS

Whitefish Pilot

High hopes for construction of four new bike paths this year were dashed last week when contractor bids came in at unacceptable levels.

City staff and bike-pedestrian trail committee members were scrambling to find alternatives, but the outlook for construction of the four trails this year is dim.

The biggest project was the long-awaited Wisconsin Avenue bike path, which would provide a safe route for bicyclists and pedestrians all the way to Big Mountain Road.

Public works director John Wilson said the project estimate for the Wisconsin Avenue bike path has increased from $1.04 million in September 2001 to $2.1 million this May.

But the single construction bid from JTL Group, of Kalispell, opened May 24, was $2.795 million — a 168 percent increase in about five years.

"It's substantially the same project," Wilson said. "The only changes over the years were perhaps $100,000 for streetlights and $10,000 for stormwater."

Wilson said Montana Department of Transportation officials were "shocked" by the JTL Group bid. Engineer's estimates have held up in other projects across the state, but "Flathead is an exception," Wilson said.

A glum Whitefish City Council unanimously rejected JTL Group's bid on Monday.

Other bids also high

Bids for three other city bike trails slated for construction this year also came in higher than expected — in two cases more than twice the engineer's estimate:

? Rocksund to Monegan — the engineer's estimate was $319,000, and the single bid was $750,000. That doesn't include the new footbridge over the Whitefish River, which will likely be put off this year.

? Edgewood Drive to Texas Avenue — engineer's estimate $192,000, single bid $280,000.

? Second Street to Armory Road — engineer's estimate $150,000, two bids at $321,000 and $345,000.

"We had originally talked about doing five trails in Phase 1 with the money we had and then use the left-over money for Phase 2," Wilson said. "Now it looks like all we can do is Wisconsin and three trails. We'll have to prioritize."

Wilson said federal money could be shifted between trail projects, but an alternative to paying contractors the "exceptional profit margin in times like this" is to build bike trails in-house. The Hope trail from Kay Beller Park to the footbridge over the Whitefish River, for example, was built by city crews in 2004, he said.

"Other city projects stood still during that time," he said. "We would need to hire five to six people and have someone oversee the work to have city crews build bike paths."

He said there's a "huge appeal" to doing bike path projects in-house, but with so much federal grant money involved in funding the trails, city staff would have to clear it with federal officials.

The city has a paving machine that can work on eight-foot-wide paths, Wilson said, but it was more likely that the city would handle grading, retaining wall construction and landscaping and hire out the paving.

"Retaining walls and landscaping costs are driving up the bids," Wilson said. "It's not material costs. It's supply and demand for subcontractors. There's so much really nice work going on out there that pays well. Government work may not look so good."

In the case of Wisconsin Avenue, a narrow two-lane state highway with a 45 mph speed limit in places, an additional cost would be traffic control.

"You have to pay the prevailing wage on federal projects," Wilson said.

Wilson said he'd like to see the other three bike trails put up for re-bid so some work can be done this year.

Construction this year was expected

The Wisconsin project was delayed last year because easements were needed from about a dozen property owners for construction of drainage catch basins and to route the bike path around power poles.

But when the delay was first announced about a year ago, the cost of the project was estimated at $1.4 million. MDT planned to use $725,000 in Air and Congestive Initiative funding, and the city would pay $675,000.

Now the bid from JTL Group is coming in at more than $2.7 million.

"JTL did the Colorado Avenue road reconstruction project last year," Wilson said. "They're having the same supply-and-demand problem we're having — trying to line up subcontractors."

Construction of the four trails this year was practically a given. The Whitefish Pilot has been reporting for some time now that the trails would be built this year.

The Fish Trails Tribune, the newsletter for the nonprofit organization Fish Trails, reported last fall that construction of the Wisconsin bike path "will start in early spring (depending on the weather) and will be concluded by that following fall."

Hunter Homes, the Fish Trails chairman and vice chairman of the city bike-pedestrian trails committee, said he's been telling everyone the trails would be built. As a Realtor, that now puts him in a uncomfortable position.

"We're promoting trails for families, to get kids off the roads for safety," he said. "The construction companies have a captive audience that put us in a bind. I'm not sure if the city can build the trails in-house, but it seems like a good idea. We would no longer be at the whims of the marketplace."

Homes said he moved here in 1976 and has worked in outdoor recreation. He said he joined Fish Trails because he wanted to help the community.

"The bike trail system is a great asset for the community," he said. "To have our future controlled by construction companies is a real shame, considering all the donated time and money."