Bids opened for 1st phase of Ligonier trail project
By Kelly Lynch | KPC News - The News Sun
Ligonier officials will review and consider three bids for the construction of the first phase of the city’s Strawberry Valley Cultural Trail project after opening proposals Monday afternoon.
The first phase of the $1.27 million project will upgrade the current nearly one-mile gravel walking and jogging track around Kenney Park to a 12-foot-wide asphalt path with a bicycle lane. Construction is slated to begin in the spring.
The three bids received by the city were under or near the engineer’s base estimate of $230,370.
API Construction came in with the lowest bid at $195,574.14, with Niblock Excavating following at $234,237. Pulver Asphalt Paving submitted the highest bid at $247,080.40.
The city also asked for alternate bids in the proposal to see how much it would cost to lengthen the path, which is shorter than one mile, to one mile by rounding out the curvy route near the entrance of the park around Jennie Thompson Gardens.
The alternate bids came in at $209,040.49 from API; $257,720 from Niblock; and $259,557.40 from Pulver. The engineer’s estimate for the alternate option was $248,290.
Improving the track is the first of three phases to be done over the next three years to complete the Strawberry Valley Cultural Trail, which will be a 5-mile loop around and through the city’s downtown. The trail will expand on the current Elkhart Riverwalk and place every Ligonier resident within a half-mile of it.
The city’s goal is to connect downtown murals, statues and historical landmarks to the city’s five parks, bringing recreation and education together.
The project is being financed through funding from the Ligonier Redevelopment Commission, Noble County Economic Development Corp. and Indiana Economic Development Corp.’s Regional Cities Initiative.
The bids, opened by City Engineer Rick Pharis, will be taken under advisement, and a contractor will be chosen at the Ligonier Redevelopment Commission’s Nov. 8 meeting.
