The West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH) announced today that Bear Contracting LLC was awarded a contract for $548,217.35 to completely rebuild a washed-out road in Harrison County. The contract is from bid lettings conducted by the WVDOH on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, and Thursday, March 16, 2023.
The project is paid for with funding from Gov. Jim Justice’s $2.8 billion Roads to Prosperity program.
Bear Contracting will build several stone buttresses along Hideaway Road near the town of West Milford in Harrison County. It is part of a bigger project to rebuild Hideaway Road after portions of the road washed out.
WVDOH had previously built a series of piling walls to shore up embankments along the washed-out sections of road.
For a list of construction projects awarded by WVDOH from the March bid lettings, 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.