The Carroll City Council selected a Minnesota company at their Feb. 23 meeting to complete the scheduled 12th Street reconstruction project after their bid came in nearly $800,000 under the engineering firm’s initial estimate. City officials hosted the public hearing on the plans, specifications, form of contract, and estimated cost for the $5.28 million improvement endeavor. Public Works Director Randy Krauel says the city opened bids from four companies earlier this month, and staff were pleased to see the winning bid as low as it was.
Construction was initially estimated at close to $4.5 million, but the favorable bids have brought the project’s total down to just the original construction cost. The council unanimously approved a resolution to select Hulstein Excavating to complete the project. Some sections of 12th Street were built in the 1960s, and the requirements for public street grades in town have changed since then. Adjustments to the associated city code have not been necessary, as no major work has been done in the area since the road was laid. However, Krauel says the council will need to update that ordinance with the new road going in.
This ordinance change is simply a legal technicality to ensure the city does not violate its own code while constructing the new road. The council unanimously approved the amendment’s first reading, waived the second and third readings, and adopted the new ordinance. Construction on the project is scheduled to begin later this year, with specific dates to be set by Hulstein Excavating during pre-construction meetings with city officials.
