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StumbleLosing bidders for I-15 widening project get $300,000
Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009 | 3:23 p.m.
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CARSON CITY – The state Transportation Board awarded a $246 million contract to Las Vegas Paving for the first phase of an Interstate 15 widening project but also, in a first, gave $300,000 to each of the three losing bidders.
The three losing bidders for the project -- to widen I-15 to four lanes in each direction from Tropicana Avenue to Sloan Road -- were Granite Construction, Kiewit-Frehner and Skanska Flatiron Constructors.
Transportation Director Susan Martinovich and her staff said it was the first time losing bidders were compensated for vying for a design-build project. The goal was to get the best bids and the three required bids to award the project.
The amount of the bids submitted by the three losers was kept confidential and even the board, headed by the governor, was kept in the dark. After extensive discussion, Martinovich said the figures would be presented to the board and to the public.
Las Vegas Paving announced it had submitted the low bid that also calls for building a Sunset Road bridge over I-15 and reconstructing the Warm Springs Road bridge. There would also be improvements to the southbound Silverado Ranch off-ramp.
Gibbons wondered how the $300,000 was arrived at for each contractor. Scott Rawlins, deputy transportation director, said it was based on market research, the size of the project and a determination whether the contractors could meet all the requirements. He said it was designed to “encourage competition.”
Gibbons said the profit may be small for the winning bidder and the company may make less than those who didn’t win the contract. “Ought there be a stipend for the winning bidder?” he asked.
Department officials said no.
Construction is scheduled to start late this year and be completed in December 2011.
Daniel Wong, chief deputy attorney general, told the board that the losing bids are kept secret while the department negotiates with the lowest responsible bidder. Once the contract is signed by the department, than the bids can be revealed, Wong said.
But Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki said, “I don’t know why we can’t see the bids.” He argued it was public information.
Senior Deputy Attorney General Louis Holland said the regulations prevent the release of the documents.
But Frank Martin, a Las Vegas contractor and board member, said he discounted the opinion of the attorney general. He said this information is available in bidding procedures in other government construction project.
Martin said the policy of keeping the bids a secret “doesn’t hold water.”
The department agreed at the end of the discussion to provide the amounts bid by the three losing companies.
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I'll do it for $50 billion dollars.
What's that? I didn't win, that's ok, give me my $300,000.
Wow, $300,000 for submitting a bid. I knew I should have made a bid on this project. The only problem was I didn't have a construction company. Still don't, but maybe I could start one. If Birdie would join me, we could name the company "Birdie Paving" and specialize in laying down thick tar asphalt. $300,000...
Not anyone can bid a huge highway project like this (licensed contractor, subcontractors, bonding, engineering, etc), and substantial time went into the bid. But it still seems odd to award the losers money.
At least NDOT was smart enough to do it design-build. The I-15 north project is what, six months ahead of schedule on a 3 year project?
The State had to borrow another 100 million from the gov't for unemployment benefits and the're throwing around 300,000 to losing bidders?
Yea, LarryVegas, good idea; all you needed was a hard hat, a big jug of water, the orange vest and be able to stand around in the heat looking busy! There's your "birdie paving"!
Part of construction is the risk/expense to bid jobs. This is flat out rediculous. Almost as rediculous as LV paving getting every job whether or not there bid is in the ballpark.
Typical Vegas fashion here. Government waste at it's finest. What a joke!!!
You always have extra money to give away when your using tax payer money to fund projects. This has always been the problem of the government. They can spend all they want if they run out they just raise taxes.
No wonder this Government is going to hell.
the reason the north I*15 project is 6 months ahead of schedule is that the contractor was allowed to move the north bound traffic onto the southbound side of I*15, this was not part of the original bid or time allocation...
and then the contractor was allowed to move the southbound traffic onto the northbound lanes...
it did expediate the contruction but dont give lvp all the credit for the work...the contract was changed.
the question would be did the contractor give ndot money back for that change...???
since they have safed 6 month worth of time, manpower and equipment.......
probably not.......
My only question is, "When does the next job bid?"
What this article doesn't tell you is what a design-build job is. A design build job typically involves three-five contractors being shortlisted to bid on a complicated job. In this case time and size is what would make it complicated.
The contractor joint ventures with one or more design firms (paying them a hefty sum of money to do the design) and designs the job for the owner. The owner gets three-five designs for the same job, evaluates all three-five designs and proposed prices and picks a BEST VALUE. The losers are then paid so they can pay their designers. Which is never enough, on average designers charge 1% of the proposal value. So in this case the winner would have spent 2.5+ million. Second, the contractor owns the design and any cost saving measures as they are intellectual property at this point, to avoid any conflicts owners pay all teams for their proposals and then can use any of the ideas presented by other contractors as value engineering. This contracting method allows for the owner to get the best bang for their dollar and by having design and construction occur concurrently the job typically gets done faster and for a better price.
RE:70aarcuda
This is typically considered value engineering and the savings are normally split 50/50 with the owner and contractor.
Sounds like Transportation Director Susan Martinovich and her staff took a trip south of the border, where smoking dope is now legal. $900,000 in consolation prizes for losing bidders? When our State government is essentially broke?
It sounds like it's time for Governor Jim Gibbons to exercise his executive power and send Ms. Martinovich and her staff packing, or transfer them to work in the DMV office in Laughlin, which I think is the southern most State office.
Once again LVP wins another huge job. Shocking, I never would of seen it coming.
$300,000 for NOT doing a job? WTF?
No wonder Las Vegas Paving got the contract...they're union. You all know no one will get any work from the government unless you are a union thug.
Commission accused of pro-union bias
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jul...
Current and former members of the Clark County Commission said a Tuesday vote -- taking a Beltway-widening contract away from the lowest bidder and giving it to Las Vegas Paving -- might set a perilous precedent.
The company that lost the bid, Fisher Sand and Gravel, has threatened to sue the county, alleging the commission's pro-union leanings prompted it to violate bidding rules and award the contract to a company that, unlike Fisher, uses union labor.
Maybe another reason they got the job is they have a pseudo monopoly on the BATCH plants. I know a few smaller companies that won't even bid jobs that LVP bids because they would just get raped for material. And Frank Martin on the board? Now that should be a cause you right wingers should take up.
I wonder Why we don't trust these people
You people obviousy have not worked in the design and construction industry. These contractors who submitted bids for the project have to spend thier own money to hire engineers, designers, traffic consultants, suppliers, and subcontractors to help them submit and accurate bid. This takes manpower hours, and materials, and these companies have to pay wages to thier employees and have business expenses for supplies, equipment costs and general overhead to even create a bid. And Guess what? They have to do it on thier dime in hopes that they will get the project and thier investment will payoff for their companies. Unfortunatly for those not selected, their investment did not payoff. So who is stuck with the debt of trying to win the bid for the project? Hundreds of local small business's that are starving for work and who are losing income to keep their businesss afloat in these sour economic times! It's good for the economy to keep these businesses alive instead of allowing them to fall out, go bankrupt, create more debt and raise the unemployment figures which inturn would end up costing our state government even more of your tax dollars. So paying them each 300k makes sense. If you were in a situation in which you had to decide which will cost more would you choose the one that is more expensive and bad for people or would you choose the less expensive route by saving money and helping people like you and me?
People need to use common sense!! If you dont you situation is a result of your own irresposiblity. I am unemployed and I understand these very simple common sense rationalites and so should you!