After some discussion over which bid should be selected, the Jefferson City Council approved a contract with Lehman Construction for a new roundabout at Stadium Boulevard and Jefferson Street.
At the City Council meeting Monday, council members approved a contract for a joint project with Cole County to address traffic backing up onto U.S. 54 from the off-ramp at Jefferson Street and congestion on Stadium Boulevard. The contract was approved by a vote of 7-2, with 2nd Ward Councilman J. Rick Mihalevich and 2nd Ward Councilwoman Laura Ward voting against the contract. Fifth Ward Councilman Mark Schreiber was not present at Monday's meeting.
The contract with Lehman Construction for more than $2.1 million was approved by the Cole County Commission last week.
At the Jefferson and Stadium intersection, the project includes putting in a dual-lane roundabout with a right-hand slip lane coming off the U.S. 54 exit ramp through Stadium to Christy Drive. The project also will widen Stadium back to the Trinity Lutheran Church driveway.
But before the contract was approved, the council had some discussion over whether the Lehman contract was the best option.
At a council meeting earlier this month, Don Ray, with Don Schnieders Excavating, spoke to the council in opposition to the selection of Lehman Construction for the project. Don Schnieders Excavating was the second lowest bidder on the project, with less than $10,000 separating the two bids, a difference of 0.4 percent, as noted by city staff.
Ray had called the Lehman bid "nonresponsive" and questioned some of the figures in the bid. Ray also noted that Don Schnieders Excavating is a local company, while Lehman Construction is out of California, Missouri.
But because the project uses federal funds distributed through the Missouri Department of Transportation, city staff have repeatedly noted that a local preference is not allowed.
City Engineer David Bange said staff checked the figures in both bids again and stands by its recommendation of Lehman Construction, as the company has a unit cost that is less than Don Schnieders Excavating. Bange said it wouldn't take much for the bid from Don Schnieders to result in a higher overall project cost.
"I'd think we were jeopardizing our federal funding if we were to not go with Lehman Construction," Bange said, noting the project uses more than $700,000 of federal funds.
Both Mihalevich and Ward said they opposed the contract because of the mobilization figure in the Lehman contract, which is significantly higher than in any of the other bids. Because that figure is paid upfront, both council members said they thought it was too high.
Bange said a mobilization fee is something to cover all the costs incurred before the project starts, such as the costs in putting together the initial bid and moving equipment to the site.
Mihalevich also noted that though the federal funds prevent using a local preference, "I feel the bid was still within our discretion."
City and county officials said the project will take two years to complete, with some work being done this year, particularly the stormwater work and the work on the intersection taking place next year. The whole project is expected to be done by August 2017.
Bange said work would begin in the second week of July.
Work on the project was scheduled to start earlier, but acquisition of right-of-way delayed the work.
Because the intersection is highly trafficked by students of Trinity Lutheran School, Jefferson City High School and Helias Catholic High School, crews will do as much work as possible in increments, and crews will begin construction on the actual roundabout after school lets out.