The West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH) announced today that KMX Painting Inc. was recently awarded a contract for $10,284,462 to clean and paint the Robert C. Byrd Bridge in Huntington, which spans the Ohio River to connect Sixth Street in Huntington with OH 7. The bridge was built in 1994.
A.L.L. Construction Inc. was awarded a contract for $34,955,943 to complete the Berkeley Springs Bypass, which will alleviate heavy truck traffic through the middle of Berkeley Springs and improve safety in the area. The project is funded through Gov. Jim Justice’s $2.8 billion Roads to Prosperity program.
The bridge will be painted dark green. Cleaning and painting the four-lane span is expected to take about 270 days. The project is expected to begin in the spring of 2023, but because contractors can only paint from April through October, the contract is expected to last into 2024.
Cleaning and painting the bridge will require periodic lane closures. But because the bridge is four lanes wide, the WVDOH expects a minimum impact on the traveling public.
For a list of construction projects awarded by the WVDOH in November, click here.
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.