The Bailey Avenue parking lot will have wider, but fewer parking spaces after work slated for this summer is completed. —Macklin Reid photo
The selectmen have one goal in mind when it comes to the delayed construction the Bailey Avenue parking lot — get it done as soon as possible, before the holidays arrive.
The in-flux bidding process, which started more than a year ago on July 2, 2013, on the almost $500,000 project, has pushed that goal as close that deadline as possible.
“Completion should be mid-October,” said First Selectmen Rudy Marconi on Tuesday. “The first bidder decided to withdraw their bid and the next bidder we didn’t know enough about so we’re waiting to approve a third bidder.”
The Board of Selectmen awarded the contract to Brookfield-based A&J Construction, which Mr. Marconi recommended, on Wednesday.
“They’ve paved before in Ridgefield,” he said. “They’ve done work on I-84 and are familiar with the area.”
The low bidder — Reliable Excavating Company in Danbury — came in at $415,047, but withdrew their offer due to state wage requirements.
The second lowest bidder was WJL Equities Corp. of Eastchester, N.Y., which placed a $436,999 bid on the project.
“They’re a bit of an unknown to us,” Mr. Marconi explained.
That left the door open for A&J Construction, which placed a $489,898 bid.
“Hopefully the board will approve it and we can start signing the documents next week,” he said. “We’ve already discussed the phasing of the construction with the Chamber of Commerce and, obviously, our goals are to have the least amount of disruption to businesses as possible.
“We’ve been discussing this for several years now,” he added. “The reality that this is going to finally happen is setting in.”
Not a moment too soon though.
According to Jerry Gay, the town’s purchasing director, the original plan was to have the work completed last fall.
“Only a couple of bids have lasted this long,” he said. “It becomes problematic when you wait this long, because companies can’t hold the prices for that long and so they withdraw their bids.
“It’s to be expected,” he added.
Read more in the Thursday, Aug. 21, Ridgefield Press.