Hay River council approved the awarding of a road and sewer maintenance contract to local company, Rowe’s Construction.
The contract will see Rowe’s complete upgrades to the water and sewer infrastructure and road surface on Riverview Drive and Beaver Crescent with construction to take place starting in the spring of 2021 and continuing through the summer of 2022.
The contract is worth $8.8 million which is lower than the $9.6 million the company initially bid.
That was higher than the town expected, and the town was able to negotiate the company down via a consulting architecture firm, according to town documents.
The lower price means the town will have to cover maintenance costs of the stretch of road during the winter when construction work isn’t happening, according to Mike Auge, Director of Public Works for the Town of River.
But the maintenance work shouldn’t be more costly than in previous years when the town has been responsible, Auge said in a council meeting on Monday.
Rowe’s Construction was the only company to bid for the project, which raised concerns for Councillor Brian Williams, who is also the chair of the finance committee.
“My other concern is when we only get one person bidding on a job, we have no way of testing the market,” said Williams. “So I have no clear picture of whether our cost projections are invalid.“
Senior administrative officer Glenn Smith said the price was discussed with Stantec, the engineering consultant on the project who negotiated the lower price with Rowe’s Construction.
