Mayfield Heights City Council Rejects Bids for Street Work

Mayfield Heights will scale back its street repair program for 2011 after bids came in over estimates.

City Engineer Dave McCallops had estimated costs at $680,000. The lowest bid received was $765,000.

"We pretty much knew it was going to come in high," said Council President Michael Ballistrea, noting rising gas prices.

The bids were rejected by City Council on Monday and the program will be rebid with a few modifications.

"We resized the program," McCallops said.

Fulham Drive was removed from the list and the scope of work was reduced on Temple Avenue and Sunset Road.

"We didn't want to reduce any more streets than we already had," McCallops said. "The objective is to come in at a lower price."

Rising oil prices contributed to the higher bids, he said. Also, it's more difficult to estimate costs of repairs in Mayfield Heights because most streets have a base made of concrete with asphalt on top, which increases the number of steps needed to complete the work.

Instead of starting in the beginning of May, work on the road projects is expected to start around the end of May. But the delay should not impact the ability to get all of the work done this construction season, according to McCallops.

The city did receive some good news regarding one aspect of the street repair program. Cross-Roads Asphalt Recycling Inc. was awarded a $54,000 contract for crack sealing, which had been estimated to cost $56,000.