Last night, the Santa Rosa City Council approved a $38 million contract with Ghilotti Construction Company to build the bicycle/pedestrian overcrossing over Highway 101. This project has been in the works for decades and hopefully will now be built before the end of the current one!
The winning bid was $8 million higher than the engineer’s estimate. Some of the grants awarded for the project have a time limitation which doesn’t allow time for re-opening bidding. Transportation & Public Works Director Dan Hennessey gave a thorough presentation enumerating other city projects that would need to be put on hold for a year in order to cover the higher prices.
The vast majority of public comment, both verbal and written, urged the Council to approve the contract so the project could move forward. In attendance was a disgruntled contractor whose bid, while lower than Ghilotti’s, was deemed unresponsive. The two other speakers who opposed the measure cited the high cost of the bridge and a potential lawsuit by the unsuccessful contractor.
The Council vote was unanimous.