By Gary Lloyd
TRUSSVILLE — Work to complete the greenway project in Trussville was let for bid Friday.
Walker Patton Contracting was the apparent low bidder, coming in with a bid of $388,248.22. Triple J Construction bid $391,868 and Veterans Landscape bid $461,042.92.
All bids, however, will be reviewed by the Alabama Department of Transportation Bid Review Committee. The awarding of the bid will go to the low bidder after about four to six weeks after the letting of the bid. The contractor will then have 15 days from a notice to proceed to begin work. Time charges will begin on that date whether work is started or not.
The gazebo at Civitan Park
file photo by Ron Burkett
ALDOT has reported that the project should move forward after July Fourth, subject to the contractor meeting all requirements.
The Civitan Park greenway project in Trussville was divided into two jobs in November. The first job will involve finishing the parking at the park and landscaping around the Veterans Memorial Monument. The second aspect involves the rest of the site, including linking the greenway from Civitan Park to the Trussville Sports Complex along the Cahaba River.
The Trussville City Council in November approved of spending $16,053 with engineering company KBR to supervise the project.
The $1.7 million greenway project began in April 2012 and was supposed to have been completed in the fall of 2012. The project has been in the works since 1998.
The Veterans Memorial Monument on Parkway Drive in Trussville is unfinished, as is the nearby greenway project.
file photo by Gary Lloyd
The project is funded with a federal grant and administered by ALDOT. The city of Trussville has no supervisory authority over the contractor.
Trussville Mayor Gene Melton spent much of last year’s Memorial Day weekend at Civitan Park as crews from ALDOT worked to address the problems the Alabama Department of Environmental Management listed in a project status report. Trussville could have faced a $50,000 fine had the problems not been corrected, which they were. The Trussville City Council in May 2013 approved of paying Cahaba Disaster Recovery up to $25,000 for work it did to clear debris from the Cahaba River on Memorial Day weekend. Melton said at the time that about 768 bales of hay were purchased and spread around the river at Civitan Park.
Prior to that, several Trussville residents at a May 2013 Trussville City Council meeting asked about the project’s status. One called the area surrounding the memorial a “disgrace.”
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.
