By Joseph Slacian
jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com
Geiger Excavating received the bid for the second phase of the city’s combined sewer overflow project.
The Wabash Board of Public Works and Safety approved the Fort Wayne firm’s $2.47 million bid on Thursday, Jan. 19.
Geiger had the lowest bid among six companies that ranged from $2.47 million to $4.24 million that were received in late December. The board tabled the bids until they could be reviewed by the city’s consulting firm, United Consulting.
United’s Keith Bryant told the board Thursday that the review included many things, including a check of the firms’ math in the bids. The review, he said, showed a $130 math error on Geiger’s part.
Engineering estimates put the project at $3.5 million, and the six bids averaged at $3.1 million.
Work could start in late March or early April, and must be finished by late October.
The Environmental Protection Agency and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management have required Indiana communities with combined sewer systems to develop plans to mitigate combined sewer overflows in order to meet the Clean Water Act and resulting Water Quality Standards.
The city has been working on the project since 2001. It was broken into four phases. The first phase, primarily along Manchester Avenue, was completed in 2013.
The second phase, to be completed by Nov. 1, 2017.
Bryant told The Paper in December after receiving the bids that there are several places on the city’s south side that are included in the project’s second phase.
“There’s one on Chestnut and Middle Street,” he said. “There’s a project working in the Columbus and Pike Street area. There’s some work in the Linlawn and Berkley area.
“On the north side we’ve got some work in the Highland Drive and Parkway Drive area. There’s some work right off of State Road 13 at Gillen, and also some work north of Sherman. There’s a sewer segment there that’s in a grass strip, alley area.”
The work in the Sherman Street area will not require any excavation, he said.
“All we’re doing is lining the sewer with a non-traditional trenchless method, so there won’t be a lot of disturbance in the area.”
The last area of work, he said, is near the city’s lift station near Indiana and Washington Street.
Work should begin on the project sometime in March, he believes.
The third phase is to be completed by Nov. 1, 2021, and the final phase by Nov. 1, 2025.
The phases are staggered roughly four years apart to help ease the burden of paying for them,.