The Starke County Commissioners opened bids Monday night for the construction of new Bridge #158 on County Road 700 East between County Road 600 North and 700 North.
This project was precipitated from the loss of a culvert in that area. Due to unstable soils, it was recommended that a bridge be constructed in that area which the commissioners previously approved.
Three bids were received. They were submitted from Superior Construction, Inc. of Portage, La Porte Construction Company of La Porte, and Ellis Construction Company, of Gary. The bids ranged from about $474,000 to $760,000.
Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler asked that the commissioners reject all bids as they all came in way over the engineer’s estimate of almost $343,000. Ritzler said he suspects he knows why they were submitted over the estimate, but will check a few numbers before he officially determines the reasoning behind the high bids.
The commissioners unanimously agreed to reject all of the bids.
