‘Unprecedented interest’

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Contractors and subcontractors discuss bid specifications for the Duck River dam project. Nearly 150 representatives attended and showed interest in the first phase of work. Trent Moore

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March 16, 2012

‘Unprecedented interest’

Hundreds turn out for Duck River dam pre-bid conference

By Trent Moore The Cullman Times The Cullman Times Fri Mar 16, 2012, 04:00 PM CDT

CULLMAN — With work on the Duck River dam finally ready to ramp up, contractors from across the state — and nation — are champing at the bit to be involved.

Close to 150 people packed Cullman city hall Thursday morning for a mandatory bid conference for phase I of the project, with massive firms and local contractors gathering to learn more about the dam.

The City of Cullman, via the utilities board, is creating a 640-acre lake with a 32-million-gallon-per-day capacity in northeast Cullman County. The total project is estimated at $68 million, and the lake will be used in addition to the area’s current water source Lake Catoma.

More than 30 contractors have requested documents for phase I of the project, ranging from 10 Alabama companies to several from as far out as Colorado or Virginia.

Steve Newton, with the project’s engineer of record CH2M Hill, said the event is an excellent meet-and-greet opportunity for smaller subcontractors to establish in-roads with the larger contractors bidding on the project. The contract will be awarded to one company, and that company will then hire various sub-contractors to handle work at the next level.

“Local contractors are getting to meet some of the bigger companies,” he said. “That’s just great, because we have a lot of local talent that wants to participate.”

Phase I of the project includes excavation, clearing work, road construction, geological investigation and quarry evaluation. The first phase is estimated to cost between $5.5-7.7 million and take approximately 220 days to complete.

“It’s basically for the foundation of the dam, and geotechnical exploration to define the rock material,” engineer and owner’s representative Bill St. John said.

Newton said he doesn’t expect any problems finding suitable bidders to handle the work.

“This is just unprecedented interest, from my point of view,” he said.

St. John noted that the more interest a project has, the more competitive the bidding process will be — which could help drive costs down even more for the city.

“It’s a huge response for this project, and a lot are also interested in being in a good position for the next phase,” he said. “It should be very competitive and that’s a great sign for the city and the board. I expect we’ll have between 5-10 bids on it, which is great.”

In addition to the numerous contractors interested in bidding on phase I, even more sub-contractors have contacted the city to be included on a local talent list for sub-contractors that is included in the bid documents. Dozens are on the list, and city officials hope it will help spur more economic growth in and around the county.

“Contractors can still get included on that, by contacting us,” Susan Eller, with Cullman Economic Development, said.

Eller can be reached at susane@cullmaneda.org.

* Trent Moore can be reached by e-mail at trentm@cullmantimes.com, or by telephone at 734-2131, ext. 220.

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‘Unprecedented interest’

Hundreds turn out for Duck River dam pre-bid conference

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