Butler County commissioners are expected to decide Friday to rebid a $4 million railroad overpass project that came in over budget in July.
The 90-day deadline expires Saturday to accept Robertson Contractors apparent low bid for the Poplar Bluff Industrial Park project, officials say.
The county is still approximately $500,000 short of the total needed to proceed, Presiding Commissioner Vince Lampe said today.
Robertson submitted a bid of nearly $3.4 million for the construction portion of the project.
Almost $550,000 in additional costs would pay for right-of-way acquisition, grant administration, engineering, construction observation and Union Pacific charges for flagging, signal removal and engineering review, according to county documents.
"We've tried to figure out a way to make it work," Lampe said. "but I think we're going to have to rebid it."
Engineers may look for ways to reduce costs before it is rebid, but no decisions have been made, Lampe said.
Grant funding should remain in place while the county works toward a solution, he said.
County officials met last week with engineer Bob Summers of Horner & Shifrin, the contractor and members of Ozark Foothills Regional Planning Commission to discuss options that would not require re-bidding. OFRPC is administering the grant funding.
Grant agencies would not support putting any change orders in place before all of the funding for the project was secured, according to the discussion.
The funding agencies want to be fair to all of the bidders, members of OFRPC said. At least one agency will also need to approve any change orders, they said.
The county received six bids for the project in July, and at least one bidder has contacted OFRPC to ask if it will be rebid or if an award has been made.
The county could seek a short term loan to reach the funding total, suggested Summers and Felicity Ray of OFRPC. It likely would not be needed, Summers said.
Lampe said he does not believe the public would support that.
County officials have previously promised the project could be completed without additional county dollars, county clerk Tonyi Deffendall said.
"The gap is getting narrower," Lampe said. "I appreciate everyone working hard to try to get this project funded. I'm going to stay on this."
The county was able to secure an additional $250,000 from the Missouri Department of Transportation and the donation of fill dirt, which has helped reach the current deficit, according to Lampe.
The county was previously awarded $1.42 million in a state Community Block Development Grant, just over $106,000 from the Delta Regional Authority and approximately $1 million from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Riceland would contribute $383,000 for changes they have requested to the design on the company's property, and Union Pacific would pay $162,200 of costs.
The county would provide in-kind work through the hauling of dirt by the county highway department, and provide about $9,500 in cash.