ITD pondering $98.5 million bid for U.S. 95 bypass

Parsons Corp. is the apparent low bidder

SANDPOINT — A Washington state company has emerged as the apparent low bidder for the U.S. Highway 95 bypass.

Parsons Corp., a Sumner-based engineering and construction company, submitted a bid of $98,473,904.35, Idaho Transportation Department spokeswoman Barbara Babic said on Tuesday, the day bids for the highway realignment project were opened in Boise.

Parsons’ bid will undergo a thorough examination to make sure there are no irregularities and could be given final approval by the Idaho Transportation Board when it convenes June 18-19, Babic said.

The bid could also be taken up during a special ITD Board meeting, although Babic said none is currently scheduled.

Babic said the project drew intense interest from construction firms around the country and the Northwest. At least six prime contractors identified themselves as potential suitors and dozens of plan sets were sold.

Transportation department staff have been inundated with phone and e-mail queries in the run-up to the bid deadline, according to Babic.

“They literally answered hundreds of phone calls and e-mails,” she said.

But only one other company, Max J. Kuney Construction Co. of Spokane, Wash., submitted a bid for the Sand Creek Byway. Babic said Kuney’s bid exceeded $110 million, but she had no further information.

“This is how these things go,” Babic said of the field of bidders. “You don’t know until they open the bids.”

Barring any surprises, construction of the byway could start by the end the summer, Babic said.

Transportation officials have estimated the project would cost about $92 million, although bypass opponents insist the price tag will surpass $100 million.

Parsons, according to the company’s Web site, has 60 years of experience in constructing transportation projects. The company earned several awards last year from the National Partnership for Highway Quality, which honored Parsons and its various partners for exceptional quality on large highway projects.