The B-Line is Coming!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 3, 2008

For more information, contact: Mick Renneisen, Director, Parks and Recreation Department, City of Bloomington, 349-3711

Bloomington, IN -- Mayor Mark Kruzan announced today that the bids for construction of the B-Line Trail were received yesterday and a low bidder has emerged.

At the bid opening at the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) in Indianapolis, bids were opened for Phase 1 of the B-Line Trail, which extends from 2nd to Rogers Street. The hope was that a firm would come in at or below the INDOT engineers' estimate of $3.1 million. One bidder did just that; Tri-County Builders of Bedford, which submitted a bid of $2.9 million.

"We are absolutely thrilled that a bid has come in that should enable us to launch construction of the B-Line this May," Kruzan said. "I cannot thank the staff of the Parks and Recreation Department enough, and in particular Director Mick Renneisen and Operations & Development Director Dave Williams, for their incredibly hard work and leadership in pulling together this project."

While today's bid opening is considered to be the unofficial apparent bid results, INDOT now undertakes a three-day bid review period where staff ensures that submittals meet all required specifications. According to Renneisen, the City doesn't anticipate any concerns of a change to the bid results as the submitters were pre-qualified by the State.

"We are exceptionally pleased with the bid results," Renneisen said. "I'd like to extend our thanks to our consultants, Butler, Fairman & Seufert, Cornerstone Planning &
Design, Bruce Carter & Associates for their outstanding work on the design details of the project. We've worked with Tri-County Builders before on Phase II of the Clear Creek Trail and most recently on the Lower Cascades parking lot project and have found them to be a highly competent construction company. We all look forward to starting this exciting project in May."

After the three-day bid review process, INDOT will schedule a pre-construction meeting within 30 days with the selected firm, City staff and the consulting firm. The meeting will include a detailed site survey, identification of a construction plan, and an establishment of a mobilization schedule and project timeline.

"I've said before that the B-Line is the most important economic development project in the City's history," Kruzan said, "and we are poised to make that a reality."

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