Highway contract awards studied

The Montana Department of Transportation opened bids last week for three road construction projects in the works for Flathead County.

Four bids were submitted for the Hutton Ranch Connector or Reserve Drive South project.

The project will build a new road connecting Hutton Ranch Road and West Reserve Drive.

It will run east of the Mountain View Plaza shopping center and Signature Theaters to an intersection with Hutton Ranch Road.

The project had an engineer’s estimate of $3.538 million; the apparent low bid of $2.998 million was submitted by LHC Inc. of Kalispell.

Other bidders were Nelcon Inc. ($3.089 million), Schellinger Construction Co. ($3.363 million) and Knife River-Kalispell ($3.386 million).

Five bids were submitted for the concrete resurfacing of a stretch of West Idaho Street in Kalispell.

The project had an engineer’s estimate of $2.037 million.

The apparent low bid of $1.699 million was submitted by Riverside Contracting Inc. of Missoula.

Other bids were submitted by WM Winkler Co. ($1.924 million), LHC Inc. ($2.125 million), Knife River-Kalispell ($2.206 million) and Acme Concrete Paving Inc. ($2.477 million).

Five bids were also submitted for the installation of a shared center turn lane at Political Hill on U.S. 93 south of Lakeside.

The project had an engineer’s estimate of $812,531. An apparent low bid of $785,257 was submitted by West Company Inc.

Other bids were submitted by LHC Inc. ($873,949), Noble Excavating Co. ($955,258), Pumco Inc. ($1.128 million) and Nelcon Inc. ($1.372 million.)

All of the bids will now be sent to the Montana Department of Transportation’s award committee, which is expected to announce contract awards on Oct. 4.

Notice to proceed for each of the road construction projects should be issued sometime around Oct. 31.

Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com