Lexington’s Urban County Council voted unanimously to approve of a resolution accepting the bid to construct sidewalks along both sides Tates Creek Road Tuesday night.
The Council voted to accept Bluegrass Contracting Corporation’s $1.67 million bid to complete the Tates Creek Sidewalk Improvements Project, which will add a 5-foot-wide sidewalk on both sides of Tates Creek Road from Montclair Drive and Lakewood Drive to the Lansdowne Shoppes (at Dove Run Road), about 1.6 miles away.
Fifth District Councilmember Bill Farmer Jr., whose district includes the area on the east side of Tates Creek Road, said he has a pre-construction meeting with Bluegrass Contracting Corp. representatives later this month and work could start as early in the fall as possible.
“This is a big deal,” Farmer said, referring to the amount of time the project has taken to get finalized. In the summer of 2009, the council voted to accept a 80-20 matching grant between the Department of Transportation and Lexington to go toward the project, which had a budget of about $1.2 million.
Though Bluegrass Contracting’s bid is $500,000 over the budget, Farmer said the city can tap into MAP (Municipal Aid Program) funds to cover the difference for the time being to get the project started.
In June, during the first bidding process, the city received two bids, which both came in at $2 million and were not feasible. The project was rebid, with the time that the construction crews could operate changed and the liquidated damages lessened if the project was not completed in the timeframe specified in the contract, and ultimately dropped the price of the project over 20 percent.