Wednesday, December 15, 2021 at 9:39:34 AM
DOTD to re-bid major project to repair I-20 through Bossier City
BOSSIER CITY, La. – The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development announces that the project to provide major repairs to a section of I-20 through Bossier City will be re-bid following a review of the recent bids on the project.
The project initially went to bid on Wednesday, November 10, 2021, with an estimated cost of $56 million. It included completely reconstructing all lanes of I-20 from Benton Road to Industrial Drive, as well as providing concrete patching on additional sections of the corridor.
However, both bids received for the project were significantly higher than the final estimate, prompting the initiation of the bid review process. The bids received were as follows:
- $82,564,848.20 (JB James Construction LLC)
- $124,179,561.90 (Gilchrist Construction Company)
A timeline for when the project will be re-bid has not yet been determined.
When bids for projects are received, an ‘apparent low bidder’ is identified, though the process of actually finalizing and awarding the contract takes about 30 days. Bids within 10% of the cost estimate are not usually considered unreasonable and bids outside of that range typically trigger a more extensive review.
Over the last several months, DOTD has seen an increase in construction costs at project bidding. It appears that material and labor costs are the major factors driving the increased costs. With a set budget, significant cost increases will limit the number of projects that DOTD is able to bid out every year. We are evaluating the cost increases and their impacts the DOTD construction program and adjusting accordingly.
DOTD understands the importance of delivering this project to the thousands of motorists who use I-20 on a daily basis, while at the same time adhering to the Department’s commitment to utilize available funding responsibly.
Additional information will be provided regarding the I-20 repair project as it becomes available.