Council approves $981K reconstruction of West Fourth Street South

Three blocks of paved road leading from Cardinal Corner to the dead-end split of South Fifth Avenue West will cost the City of Newton less than $1 million to replace, but staff says the street project is a needed addition to the community since the asphalt surface and road base are past the point of rehabilitation.

Newton City Council voted 6-0 in favor of accepting the low bid of $981,423 from Manatt’s, Inc. to reconstruct West Fourth Street South from South Second Avenue West to South Fifth Avenue West. According to city documents, the 200-400 blocks of the street had undergone several asphalt resurfaces in the past 65 years.

As part of the project, contractors will remove the pavement, replace the water main and add new storm sewers, a granular subbase and a 31-foot-wide concrete street. Other accompanying work includes driveway approaches, sidewalks and ADA-compliant sidewalk ramps.

In total, 14 bids were received for the reconstruction project on Jan. 18. The costs ranged from more than $981,000 to more than $1.3 million. Apart from the winning bid from Manatt’s, the lowest bids included $991,097 from Alliance Construction Group and $995,562 for Con-Struct Inc.

The low bid from Manatt’s was also well below the engineer’s cost estimate of $1,117,305, meaning the bid came in $135,882 below estimate. The project has a completion date of July 30, and it will be paid for using a combination of American Rescue Plan Act, storm water utility and water enterprise funds.

Here is the break down of funding streams:

• $411,648.50 of ARPA funds.

• $341,565 of storm water utility funds.

• $228,209.50 of water enterprise funds.

Council member Randy Ervin said it feels like city officials had been talking about this reconstruction project “forever,” much like the Union Drive project.

“It’ll be a good project,” Ervin said.