Crawford County interstate job: 1.8 million cubic yards of embankment and two plate girder bridges near the I-40/I-49 interchange

The biggest earthwork job on the Arkansas Department of Transportation's Nov. 4 letting is a 5-mile grading and structures contract in Crawford County. ARDOT's notice for Job 040904, "Clear Creek Rd. – I-40 (Phase 1)," says the purpose is to construct grading and structures of a four-lane interstate facility, including improvements to the Interstate 40 and 49 interchange. The route number on the notice is 549.

The scope

The notice lists 58 item lines, including alternates. The earthwork quantities dominate:

• Compacted embankment: 1,820,162 cubic yards
• Unclassified excavation: 453,817 cubic yards
• Rock fill: 209,970 cubic yards
• Clearing and grubbing: 282 stations each
• Aggregate base course (Class 7): 53,393 tons

The job also includes two continuous plate girder bridges with a total length of 1,031.95 feet, five reinforced concrete box culverts totaling 296.14 feet, cement-stabilized crushed stone base, asphalt base, binder and surface courses, concrete ditch paving, erosion control, lighting, signing, ITS items and pavement marking. Structural steel painting is listed at 1,111.8 tons. Removal work includes 1,834 square yards of concrete driveways. The notice lists the route as 549 and the section as 6.

Paving quantities include 8,689 tons of asphalt base course and 12,673 tons of binder, along with 791 cubic yards of concrete riprap. The notice also gives bidders choices: for 24-inch and 36-inch pipe culverts, bidders price one of six alternates (reinforced concrete, three kinds of coated corrugated steel, high-density polyethylene or PVC), and for 16-foot gates, steel or aluminum.

Bidders set the clock

ARDOT included its job special provision "Site Use (A+C Method) - Calendar Day Contract." Under it, the bidder determines the number of calendar days needed to complete the project, and that time is part of the bid. The notice also says 14 trainees are required on the project.

Who is looking

ARDOT's proposal holder list for the morning session, dated Oct. 28, shows 10 firms holding proposals for Job 040904, the most of any job in the letting:

• Forsgren, Inc. (Fort Smith)
• McGeorge Contracting Co. (Pine Bluff)
• Mobley Contractors (Morrilton)
• Weaver-Bailey Contractors (Conway)
• Manhattan Road & Bridge Company (Tulsa)
• Robinson Construction (Poteau, Okla.)
• Crossland Construction Company (Columbus, Kan.)
• Robertson Contractors (Poplar Bluff, Mo.)
• Emery Sapp & Sons (Columbia, Mo.)
• AIS Infrastructure (Chattanooga, Tenn.)

Four of the 10 have Arkansas addresses. Holding a proposal does not mean a firm will bid.

For subcontractors and suppliers

A job this size needs earthwork, hauling, aggregate, concrete, steel erection, painting, erosion control and traffic control. ARDOT requires every prime that bids a federally funded job to file a bidders list naming every subcontractor, trucker and supplier that quoted, whether or not the quote was used. The list includes each firm's work type, NAICS codes, age and annual gross receipts. Quoting a prime therefore puts a firm on ARDOT's record.

Public construction contracts over $50,000 in Arkansas require a payment bond in the full contract amount, covering labor and materials (Ark. Code § 18-44-503).

Where it is

Crawford County is in ARDOT District 4, based in Fort Smith. The district's other Nov. 4 job is an overlay of about 11.6 miles of Highway 375 in Polk County (Job A40062), which had a single proposal holder, Blackstone Construction of Russellville, on Oct. 28. Our Crawford County hub lists prequalified firms in the county, and the job's notice is linked from our bids page. Bids are due by 10 a.m. on Nov. 4 through Bid Express.

Bidding details

The job is federal-aid project CPFCDS-NHPP-40-1(268), in the morning session. ARDOT accepts only internet bids submitted through Bid Express with AASHTOWare Project Bids software, and prime bidders must be prequalified with the department. ARDOT posts addenda for advertised jobs on its contractor pages, and apparent bid results after bids are downloaded.