Boardwalk Bids Reveal Savings

OCEAN CITY – Bids to reconstruct phase one and supply the lumber for the reconstruction of the Boardwalk came in below estimates this week.

“Preliminary results are bids were significantly less than the estimate,” City Engineer Terry McGean told the Mayor and Council Tuesday.

According to McGean, the budget for the construction of the new project is $7 million. The budget for phase one, which includes demolition, carpentry on the north and south end and electrical, is $3.3 million.

“There are five different work packages that can be bid individually or combined [phase one] plus a separate materials bid with different alternates,” McGean said.

Demolition includes the removal of the wood deck, stringers and wales, pile cut off and rough grading from 27th to 15th streets. The concrete included is the installation of stone base and construction of concrete footers from 27th to 15th streets and 96 linear feet of a concrete retaining wall. Electrical between 27th and 15th streets includes disconnection of all electric service and Boardwalk lights, removal of existing lights, new conduit, wires and connections, new fiber-optic cable and re-installing existing Boardwalk lights.

Carpentry on the north end includes installation of new wood stringers and deck from 27th to 15th streets. The carpentry on the south end includes removal and replacement of the surface from Somerset Street to the Inlet.

There were several combined bids submitted for phase one. The company, Richard Beaver Construction, entered a bid that covered all the units of construction included in phase one and totaled in cost around $1.14 million, which city staff estimated to cost $2.3 million.

Other submitted bids only covered a couple units of construction, such as Harkins Contracting bided on the carpentry of the north and south end of the Boardwalk at a cost higher, close to $1.8 million. A bid submitted over the town’s budget was Mumford and Miller and was around $3.7 million, which covered all units of phase one except electrical.

“Maybe as much as $1 million under budget for this phase,” McGean said of the bids entered. “But I have a lot of analysis to do first.”

The low bidders for lumber were Grasmick Lumber at about $603,000, Lumberman Associates was around $617,000 and Biewerlumber submitted approximately $623,000.

“Overall I am very pleased with the bid results,” McGean said. “We had tremendous response. I still have a lot of work to do checking references and scope before I can make an award recommendation to the council.”