Transportation commission awards $33.8 million in highway contracts

Contracts totaling nearly $33.8 million for nine highway projects around the state, including two to be funded with revenue from the fuel tax increase, were awarded by the Wyoming Transportation Commission during its December meeting in Laramie.

A 7-mile section of Interstate 90 between the Powder River and the Johnson-Campbell County line will get a new layer of pavement under a $13.2 million contract won by Simon Contractors and Subsidiaries of Cheyenne. The project also will include rehabilitation work on six bridges on the highway section. The contract completion date is June 30, 2017.

High Country Construction of Lander submitted the low bid of $10.3 million for improvements to 4.4 miles of the northbound lanes of Interstate 25 about 5 miles west of Douglas. The work will include milling off deteriorating pavement, replacing it with a new layer of pavement, widening the safety shoulders by 2 feet on each side of the highway and replacing the bridge over La Prele Creek. Northbound traffic will be diverted into one of the southbound lanes in April, and the project is expected to be done by Oct. 31.

Worland’s McGarvin-Moberly Construction was the low bidder at $3.7 million for a new 2-inch layer of asphalt on 14 miles of WYO 130 between Centennial and Ryan Park. Parking areas along the highway also will be repaved, and the work is scheduled for completion by Aug. 31.

A 12-mile section of WYO 130 north of Saratoga also will get deteriorating pavement milled off and replaced with a new layer of pavement under a $3.7 million contract won by Mountain Construction Co. of Lovell. The contract completion date is Oct 31.

Both of the WYO 130 projects are among the 14 projects WYDOT plans to begin this year with the additional revenue the department expects to receive from the fuel tax increase that took effect in 2013.

Simon Contractors and Subsidiaries of Cheyenne submitted the low bid of $1.5 million to complete a full-depth reclamation and chip seal on WYO 313 from Chugwater 19 miles east into Goshen County. The full-depth reclamation on 2.5 miles of the section will entail grinding up the existing cracked pavement and using that as a base for a new 3-inch layer of asphalt. The chip seal will cover the entire 19-mile section. Work is not expected to begin until summer and the contract completion date is Oct. 31.

Wilson Brothers Construction of Cowley won a $985,000 contract for landslide repairs along I-90 south of Sheridan. The Marshall Hill slide about 2 miles south of Sheridan will be stabilized by drilling 80 holes 25 feet deep into the unstable soil, filling the holes with crushed rock and compacting the rock. The Meade Creek slide about 3.4 miles further south will get 320 of the stabilizing aggregate columns. Some of the unstable soil on the slopes below the highway also will be replaced with lightweight scoria rock. The contract calls for the slide work to be done by the end of March and all work to be completed by May 31.

JM Concrete of Idaho Falls was the low bidder at $158,000 for a contract to repair timber components under the Fish Creek Bridge on WYO 22 just east of Wilson. The work will include using jacks to lift the bridge deck slightly while it is still carrying traffic, and replacing two rotting timber pile caps under the deck. The work must be done during the winter months when the water level in Fish Creek is low, and the contract completion date is April 30.
Gillette’s S&S Builders won a $146,000 contract to repair a concrete girder on a county road bridge over I-90 about 7 miles east of Sundance. The girder was damaged when it was struck by a truck hauling logging equipment. The repairs will include replacing reinforcing steel inside the girder and then patching the concrete. The work is scheduled to be done by Feb. 28.

Contract West Roofing of Salt Lake City was awarded a $34,000 contract to replace the roof on the Star Valley Rest Area on US 89 about 10 miles north of Afton. The contract completion date is March 15.