City will rebid a revised West 9th Street project

City of Weiser officials plan to send a tweaked West 9th Street project out to bid for a second time by the end of August.
 The city and project engineer Keller Associates revised the plans to cut costs while keeping the major parts of the project intact after the first round of bids came in significantly higher than estimates.
 The city rejected two bids in May after the low bid was still nearly $800,000 more than the project estimate of $2.5 million. LTHAC was able to find another $340,000 for the project, but that still left the budget short by about $600,000.
 City public works official Mike Campbell said Keller Associates should have a new estimate this week that reflects the cost-cutting changes to the project. The goal is to go out to bid for a second time later this month.
 The major components of the original street project will stay in the bid. Those include straightening and widening West 9th Street from Pioneer Road to Indianhead Road and replacing the outdated bridge over the Galloway canal.
 One part of the project that will be scrapped to save money is the construction of new curbs, gutters and sidewalks on the west side of West 9th Street, which is actually in the county. The city would keep curbs, gutters and sidewalks on the east side of West 9th Street in the project.
 Campbell said going back out to bid at the end of August or early September will be a more advantageous time for the city. The higher-than-anticipated bids the city received earlier this year were due, in part, to the timing.
 With the residential and commercial building boom going on across the Treasure Valley, contractors were backed up with work and could pick and choose what to bid on. They may not be as busy this fall and show an interest in the Weiser project.
 If the bids come in under budget, work on West 9th Street could begin this fall. Replacing the bridge over the Galloway canal can’t start until the irrigation season is over and there is no water in the canal.
 The West 9th Street project has been in various stages of planning for nearly a decade. City officials have wanted to transform the narrow street into a wider thoroughfare and replace the one-lane bridge over the Galloway canal with a new 40-foot structure.
 The work also calls for straightening the street at the intersection of West 9th Street and Indianhead Road. The current configuration of the intersection is a modified “T” that requires an abrupt change in direction when negotiating the uncontrolled northbound and southbound directions.
 The plans also included a continuous sidewalk on the east side of West 9th Street from Pioneer Road to Indianhead Road that will enhance safety for pedestrians and bicyclists.
 As part of the project, the city had to acquire rights-of-way required along West 9th Street. They were basically small strips of land that measured a few feet but were needed for the wider road. The standard city street width is 12-feet for each of two lanes for a minimum of 24 feet, if not more.
 The work on West 9th Street will be paid for by federal highway grants administered by the Idaho Department of Transportation through the LTHAC program. The city will be required to pay 7.34 per- cent of the project cost as matching funds, which totals more than $190,000.
 In anticipation of the project starting this summer, which didn’t happen, city crews tore up part of West 9th Street between Pioneer and Flintlock Road to do water line, electrical and sewer work in advance of the project.
 Now that the project has been delayed, the city will have to go back and smooth out those streets.