The Bartholomew County commissioners have approved a contract with Milestone Contractors for the first phase of the county’s 2021 road overlay program. Commissioner Carl Lienhoop said that the total contract amount is approximately $1,725,580.
This initial phase includes 30 repaving projects that encompass 22.16 miles of county roads.
Milestone’s proposal was the lowest of four bids opened on June 7. One proposal was nearly $800,000 above Milestone’s offer.
Anticipating that the lowest bid would be higher, Bartholomew County successfully sought $950,000 from the Community Crossings matching grant program. That amount was intended to cover half the total costs, according to county highway engineer Danny Hollander. The 50% local match will come from conventional road funds received by the county.
But since Milestone’s bid came in lower than expected, the grant will be reduced to $862,750, Hollander said. The maximum a government entity can received annually through Community Crossings is $1 million. So with the reduction, Bartholomew County can apply for an additional $137,250 during the program’s second phase.
If awarded, the additional grant and matching local funds would total $274,500 — enough to repave up to three more miles of roads, according to Hollander. However, he noted that if the county receives a second-round grant, it would not be awarded until late in the year.
One reason why the company was willing to submit a lower-than-expected bid is because "our relationship with the county has been phenomenal over the years," said Milestone’s vice-president and area manager Corey Baugh.
But there are other factors. While demand is heating up among large corporate clients, Baugh said the number of smaller businesses requesting his company’s services "is still lagging."
Milestone is also facing a shortage of skilled labor, which has been a problem for general contractors for quite some time, he added.
When all factors are considered, government contracts for public roads and streets have become increasingly important for contractors like Milestone, Baugh said.
Among the high-profile projects this year will be an upgrade to Marr Road, between county roads 550N and 600N. This will extend improvements made between Sawin Drive and County Road 550N in July, 2018, all the way north to the Armuth Acres subdivision.
Fresh asphalt will also be placed on the north side of the Indiana Premium Outlets, where more than a mile-and-a-half of Presidential Way will be upgraded from U.S. 31 to County Road 800N.
What cannot be known at this time is how fast all the projects can be completed.
There may also be some delays caused by material shortages, such as steel needed for multiple purposes such as culvert replacements, according to Hollander.
"You don’t want to overlay a road before (another crew) comes in to cut a new culvert pipe," Baugh said.
Finally, an unexpected rainy spell can always throw a road project off schedule, he said.
— Republic reporter Jana Wiersema contributed to this story.
