There are low bids and then there are LOW bids.
The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) had estimated the cost of demolishing the Cline Avenue Bridge at just over $30 million. So when they received a bid of $36.44 million bid from Joseph B. Fay Co, city officials probably gulped a little. They were probably somewhat relieved at the contents of the second of three sealed bids: $8.84 million from Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Co.
But imagine their astonishment when the third bid estimated the cost of demolishing a 900-foot span at $8.93 million. Yes, $8.93 million; less than a third of city estimates and roughly half the bid price from its nearest competitor.
Interestingly though, Joseph B. Fay Co. received $6 million for the demolition of a 900-foot span of the eastbound Cline Avenue ramp to Riley Road earlier this year.
The demolition of the Cline Avenue Bridge, which could begin this winter, will mark the final demise of the troubled span, which first opened to traffic in 1983. It was the scene of a disastrous construction accident that killed 14 workers when it was being built and was condemned by the state in December 2009 when it was found to be gravely weakened.
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