Contract bids for the long-awaited Holland Avenue sewer line and Dunkard Avenue lift station replacement were presented and accepted by council members at the Westover City Council meeting Tuesday evening.
Project Engineer Doug Smith, of Thrasher Engineering, presented recommendations for contractors on both projects to which the council unanimously agreed. Council member Jeffrey Friend was absent and did not vote.
Blue Gold Development LLC will take on the Holland Avenue project with a bid of $2,963,637.
Green River Group LLC won the lift station replacement bid with a similar cost of $2,958,025.
The Holland Avenue project will replace approximately 2,800 feet of gravity sewer line and 3,000 feet of storm sewer line beneath the main route in Westover as well as repairs to the retaining wall along the lower portion.
Construction of a new primary lift station on Dunkard Avenue will also include installing 500 feet of sanitary sewer line and 500 feet of force main lines. The station is the heart of the city’s sewer system, pumping flows from Westover beneath the Monongahela River to meet up with the Morgantown Utility Board system.
In anticipation of the projects, the city’s sewer rates were increased by 9% in April 2023 and another 36.67% this past April. The city is also committing all $1.9 million of its American Rescue Plan Act dollars to the project.
Smith said pre-closing on the accepted bids will be Oct. 9 with a final closing Oct. 10.
The city can decide if the contractors begin construction immediately or if council will allow them to begin closer to spring, which could help avoid possible weather-related setbacks and traffic detour problems.
Smith assured the bids would not change based on when construction begins.
The actual construction will be completed between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.
Both projects are expected to be completed in 2025.
