A pot hole is seen in the center of Borst Avenue as vehicles make their way down the road in April in Centralia.
Workers are readying Borst Avenue in Centralia for a long-planned overhaul, as county commissioners voted Monday to award the contract for the project to Kelso-based C&R Tractor and Landscaping. The company is expected to get to work this month.
C&R came in the lowest of six bidders for the project, with a winning offer just below $3.2 million — a drastic savings from what backers had originally estimated the work would cost.
“When we first started talking about this, the price range was closer to $5 million, so to see it closer to $3 million is really positive,” said county manager Erik Martin.
Most of the funding for the project is coming from the state Transportation Improvement Board, as part of a grant awarded in 2017. The county will be putting $500,000 for the work, with Centralia contributing $700,000. Those local funding figures won’t change, but the savings realized by the low bid will allow backers to return a significant portion of the $3.8 allotted by the TIB for other projects throughout the state.
“Within the next probably 30 days, we’ll start seeing equipment,” said county Public Works director Josh Metcalf. “The majority of the work will probably start right after school is over for the year. We’ll have some prep time, staging, moving in equipment, getting materials. You’ll start seeing fencing and stuff like that going up.”
The final engineer’s estimate for the work had projected costs at about $4.5 million.
According to Metcalf, part of the reason for the low bid was because the county was able to start the process early in the year, meaning more contractors were able to compete. C&R has also done extensive work in Lewis County, and is already currently working with Public Works on a fish passage project.
Over the summer, workers will move two existing lanes slightly to the south, leaving room for a new pedestrian walkway and drainage system. The work is happening following concerns raised by students and residents that the stretch of Borst Avenue between Centralia Middle School and Centralia High School is not pedestrian-friendly and regularly pools with rainwater.
“I drive it every day,” said county commissioner Edna Fund, who pushed for the project when she sat on Centralia city council. “Just thinking that we’ll have some things for the kids and people walking is just wonderful. It’s very gratifying.”
Martin said the number of contractors that pursued the project were a strong indicator that it would be successful.
“It’s a good sign that the economy’s going well when you get a lot of competition for bids,” he said. “I’m cautiously optimistic that’s going to mean a good project for a good price.”
