A bid to build the pontoons for a new SR 520 floating bridge have come in under the state’s estimate with a Kiewit-General Joint Venture submitting the apparent best price and technical proposal.

The plan is to build the bridge’s concrete pontoons in Grays Harbor County.

Kiewit-General’s bid price of $367.3 million is $180 million less than the state engineer’s estimate for the project. WSDOT officials say the contractor team appears to have the best combination of bid price and technical score, which reflected proposed plans for a pontoon construction facility, how quickly the new pontoons could be built, and environmental protections. Three teams were pre-qualified by WSDOT to compete for the contract.

“We appreciate the hard work and excellent proposals submitted by the three firms. Some of the top engineering firms in the world vied to work on the pontoon project,” said Dave Dye, WSDOT Deputy Secretary. “This bid opening is another significant milestone as we work to open a new SR 520 bridge in 2014.”

In addition to Kiewit-General, bids also were submitted by Flatiron, Graham, Turner Joint Venture and Skanska, Mowat, Manson Joint Venture.

The contractor team will:

Design and build a new pontoon construction facility in Grays Harbor County – scheduled to begin in late 2010.

Design and construct 33 new floating bridge pontoons.

Store pontoons until they are needed for the SR 520 floating bridge.

By combining design and construction in one contract at a fixed price, the contractor team has more opportunities for innovations and WSDOT and taxpayers are assured that costs are controlled, officials said. A final contract is scheduled to be signed in coming weeks.

“This winter’s weather is an important reminder that the SR 520 floating bridge is a vulnerable structure,” said Julie Meredith, WSDOT’s SR 520 Program Director. “Building these pontoons prepares WSDOT and the region to respond to a catastrophic failure of the SR 520 floating bridge.”

The pontoon construction project is one project under way to replace the SR 520 floating bridge. The state Legislature has authorized approximately $2 billion out of a $4.65 billion budget using a combination of state and federal funding and future SR 520 toll revenue. Tolling is scheduled to begin in spring 2011 and toll rates will be set by the state Transportation Commission in 2010.

Kiewit-General is a world leader in floating bridge construction. The firm is completing the SR 104 Hood Canal repair and replacement project for WSDOT.

In August, WSDOT identified the 55-acre Aberdeen Log Yard as the preferred site for the Grays Harbor area pontoon casting facility. Environmental review of the log yard site and the alternate 90-acre Anderson & Middleton site in Hoquiam is scheduled to be completed in 2010. After environmental review is completed and permits obtained, construction of the pontoon casting facility can begin. By the end of 2012, the first wave of the 33 pontoons will be constructed at the facility.