Clerical error raises cost of Springville road project by $150K

SPRINGVILLE — A clerical error in a bid document cost a road builder a job and the city some $150,000.

Hawker Enterprises had the low bid on the reconstruction of 400 East, but owner Kyle Hawker said he mistakenly put in an extra digit when he was filling out an electronic bid document, which made his $1.67 million bid for the road come out at $16 million. The total lump sum bid was more than $2.4 million.

Staker Parson Co. had the next lowest bid at $2.6 million. Hawker's lump sum bid was lower, but it failed to add up when combined with the bids for the project's separate items. So the City Council on Tuesday threw it out, saying they "had to follow the bid documents."

Rather than rebid the road where crews are installing a 60-inch water line, city leaders awarded the bid to Staker Parson. The highest bid came from Sunroc for $2.6 million, just $38,570 higher than Staker Parson.

"We (had) no other option than to go with (Staker Parson)," Councilman J. Neil Strong said.

Construction starts July 6.

The bid award is contingent on the city getting a cost-sharing contract from the Central Utah Water Conservancy District, with the district picking up most of the tab. Springville's portion could be as much as $1 million, city administrator Troy Fitzgerald said.

— Rodger L. Hardy