The final section of MacCorkle Avenue to be renovated in Kanawha City is among 22 projects included in a bid letting conducted by the West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH) on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022. The project is funded by West Virginia Turnpike bond sales through Gov. Jim Justice's $2.8 billion Roads to Prosperity program.
“This is the last piece of the puzzle to upgrade MacCorkle Avenue through Kanawha City,” said Todd Rumbaugh, P.E., WVDOH Chief Engineer of Construction. “This will fix all the potholes, all the cracks, and leave the citizens with a smoother, safer roadway for years into the future.”
The contract, to rehabilitate MacCorkle Avenue from 40th Street to 58th Street, is the last of three major construction projects to rebuild or renovate MacCorkle all the way from 33rd Street to 58th Street through the heart of Kanawha City. |
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In May 2021, SQP Construction Group was awarded a contract for $570,000 to install 105 ADA-compliant curb cuts along MacCorkle Avenue between 35th Street and 58th Street. Work on the curb cuts had to be completed before work could begin on the roadway.
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In October 2021, Mountaineer Contractors Inc. was awarded a contract for a little over $10 million to completely rebuild MacCorkle Avenue from the ground up, including new sidewalks and drainage structures, between 33rd and 40th streets. That work is currently underway.
The final piece of the puzzle will involve work on the road base and repaving MacCorkle Avenue from 40th Street to 58th Street. Construction is expected to begin once asphalt plants reopen in the spring of 2023, and be complete by the summer of 2024. Also on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, the WVDOH accepted bids for a project to renovate 13 different bridges on an approximately 40-mile stretch of Interstate 79 between Lost Creek and Interstate 68 near Morgantown. The Nov. 15 bid letting included the following projects: - Martinsburg ADA ramp project. (Berkeley County)
- Interstate 79 bridge rehabilitation project. (Harrison, Marion and Monongalia counties)
- Belington to Tenmile Road paving. (Barbour County)
- Morris Builders Bridge replacement. (Monongalia County)
- Homewood to Weston Road paving. (Lewis County)
- Summersville traffic signals. (Nicholas County)
- Westside to Virginia state line paving. (Pendleton County)
- Friars Hill Road slip repair. (Greenbrier County)
- Philip Run Bridge replacement. (Calhoun County)
- 40th Street to 58th Street renovation and paving. (Kanawha County)
- Williamson ADA ramp project. (Mingo County)
- Madison Avenue pedestrian and bike facility. (Cabell County)
- Peyton Street ADA ramp project. (Cabell County)
- Buffalo Road pedestrian and bike facility. (Putnam County)
- Elm Grove Bridges cleaning and painting. (Ohio County)
- Sylvester to Whitesville pedestrian and bike facility. (Boone County)
- Rainelle Main Street ADA ramp project. (Greenbrier County)
- North River to Virginia state line paving. (Hampshire County)
- District 1 guardrail replacements.
- Wells Hill Road to Friendly paving. (Tyler County)
- Buffalo Road paving. (Putnam County)
- Deerwalk Highway high friction pavement. (Wood County)
Several factors are considered before awarding a bid, including whether a bid falls above or below the WVDOH Engineer’s Estimate and by what percentage. In cases where a bid is above the Engineer’s Estimate, WVDOH must consider the project need, repercussions of not awarding the project, additional funding sources, and whether sufficient reasons exist for the differences in estimates. Most projects are reviewed, analyzed, and awarded within a week of the bid letting, but the process can take longer. When the Division of Highways has a project that is determined to be best constructed by a contractor, it is processed through the bid letting system. A letting is a scheduled opportunity for contractors to review and bid on several construction projects at one time. Lettings are held either once or twice per month and conducted through the Bid Express System online at www.bidx.com and handled through the Contract Administration Division. Contractors need to subscribe to Bid Express before bids can be accepted on any project. As the date and time approach the deadline of the letting, contractors are expected to place their bids, with complete documentation as necessary. Shortly after the letting, the respective bids are reviewed. All bids are evaluated thoroughly for competitiveness and deemed acceptable through guidelines as approved by policy, reviewed, and approved by the FHWA. Award of the contracts is made based on the recommendation by our Awards Committee based on the results that evaluation and approval by the Commissioner. Projects are typically awarded to the lowest bidder with all proper documentation in place.