Columbus Board of Public Works and Safety members opened bids to construct a new bus stop near NexusPark along Herman Darlage Drive that will become available for use in the spring.
The bid will be awarded at the next board of works meeting on Feb. 17.
Bids were the following:
- All Star Paving: $69,523
- Dave O’Mara Contractor: $74,866
- Milestone Contractors: $107,377
- Case Construction: $8,784,087
The city previously partnered with students from IU’s J. Irwin Miller Architecture Program who designed the bus shelter that’s been at the location for about a year.
The construction of the bus stop itself will come in tandem with changes the transit department is making to the ColumBUS system starting on March 23 when the city will transition from routes to a color-coded loop system, relocate several transit stations and make changes to existing routes.
Bus routes will become the Blue, Green, Purple and Orange loops. People can get a preview of the new loops at: columbus.in.gov/columbus-transit/loops-preview/.
In addition, the transfer station at Target will move to NexusPark, Stop & Wave pickups will end, and the Blue Loop will begin offering two split routes with service to the AirPark and Southern Indiana Orthopedics that will alternate every hour.
The bus shelter — paid for through a $15,000 grant from the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), along with funding from Heritage Fund and the city, among others — is made of bent-plate steel, perforated with glass with ceramic threading. It also features a pattern of dancing Cs that follows the map of rivers that go through Columbus.
