Hollister
– The low bid for construction of the long-planned Highway 25
bypass came in at $2.2 million below cost estimates Wednesday.
Hollister – The low bid for construction of the long-planned Highway 25 bypass came in at $2.2 million below cost estimates Wednesday.
Pavex Construction, a subsidiary of Watsonville-based Graniterock, was the low bidder among four companies vying for the job. Pavex’s bid was $23.2 million.
Lisa Rheinheimer, executive director of the San Benito County Council of Governments, said the lower-than-expected construction bid means the bypass project should be completed within the estimated total cost of $45 million.
COG still needs to investigate the details of the bids, Rheinheimer said, but if everything checks out, Pavex will be awarded the construction contract on April 26.
“It’s a relief,” said San Benito County Supervisor Anthony Botelho, who sits on COG’s board of directors. “Now we can focus on getting this done on time.”
Hollister residents should already be familiar with Pavex’s work. The company is currently repaving many of Hollister’s streets.
Pavex Division Manager Rodney Jenny said he doesn’t know why his company’s bid was $2.2 million less than both the county’s estimate of $25.4 million and the closest competition. But Jenny noted that grading and paving jobs like the bypass are the company’s bread and butter.
“It’s a tough business to predict,” Jenny said. “If we knew what the bids would be, we’d be geniuses.”
“We’re real glad we got the job … because it’s more that just building; it’s also something that will improve the community,” Graniterock spokesman Jim West said.
The bypass will reroute highway traffic off San Benito Street onto a new road east of McCray Street. New developments, including a Lowe’s Home Improvement Center, are planned along the bypass route, and the project’s supporters have said it could help Hollister’s downtown by making the area more pedestrian friendly.
“We’re looking forward to some revitalization,” West said.
There could still be some bumps along the way of building the bypass, however.
Aptos attorney Dennis Kehoe, who represents Janet Roberts, a property owner whose land was acquired for the bypass project through eminent domain, said Wednesday he plans to continue fighting COG over the land. Kehoe claims the eminent domain proceedings for Highway 25 were illegal.
Nonetheless, Rheinheimer said, COG plans to break ground on the bypass on May 4.
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or
ah*@fr***********.com
.
