The five bids for the demolition and replacement of the Howard Danville Road Bridge were all below the county engineer's estimate of $1.47 million during bid openings at the Knox County Board of Commissioners meeting on May 8.
"I think many people understand that we open up all the bids and the engineer will check these for the validity and all the things that have been required as a contractor," Commissioner Bill Pursel said, according to a YouTube video recording of the meeting.
According to the advertisement for bids attached to the commissioners' May 8 meeting agenda, the project involves removing an existing steel bridge and constructing a prestressed concrete box beam bridge. The bridge is located on Pleasant Valley Road (TR 362) in Clinton Township, Knox County.
Bids ranged from $719,947 to $993,964. Menuez & Son of Millsburg, Ohio, submitted the lowest bid at $718,947. Adena Corp. of Mansfield, Ohio, submitted a bid of $934,465. Buds Inc. of Nashport, Ohio, submitted the highest bid at $993,964. McConnell Contracting Inc. of West Lafayette, Ohio, submitted a bid of $905,504. The final bid came from Crawford Construction Co. of Galion, Ohio, with a bid of $889,050.
According to Knox County Engineer Cameron Keaton's 2024 annual report, the Howard-Danville Road bridge replacement project receives 95% of its funding from the state's Local Bridge Replacement Program (LBR), with remaining costs covered by local funding.
