Wall bids rejected
Town will serve as general contractor on work
Town of Farragut received only two bids to make façade repairs to the wall along Campbell Station Road, and as both greatly exceeded the planned $200,000 budget they were unanimously rejected at last week’s Board of Mayor and Alderman meeting.
Southern Constructors Inc. bid $349,000 while Merit Construction Inc. bid $429,300.
“The bids that were received exceeded our budgeted amount by 75 percent of the budget,” stated a report prepared by Town Public Works director William “Bud” McKelvey. “Given the bids received, staff recommends rejection of the bids.
“We plan on dividing out the project and re-bidding, which will require the Town to be the general contractor and subcontract the work for masonry services, purchase of brick and mortar as well as traffic control,” the report further stated.
“I do believe the cost will be higher than we have budgeted,” Town administrator David Smoak said. “But I do believe we can save dollars by doing some of the work ourselves. And it won’t be as much as the bids that have come in.”
The wall was constructed in 2010, as part of the multi-lane widening of Campbell Station Road by the Tennessee Department of Transportation. TDOT oversaw the installation of the wall, which was covered with a lightweight stone veneer finish that did not remain attached. The façade began to crack and peel, and almost two years ago Town officials decided just to remove the facade altogether while it considered future options.
Earlier this summer, BOMA evaluated and selected brick and stone colors, which will cover the wall.
Public works will order the materials, and staff will begin work on what it can accomplish in the coming months.
