THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 12, 1995 TAG: 9505120497
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHRISTOPHER DINSMORE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel Commission will meet at 9 a.m. today to consider whether it should toss out the low bid to build a second span across the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.
The commission agreed in court last week to delay issuing the construction contract for a week.
Among the issues being considered are allegations that the low bid doesn't meet some construction specifications.
The commission probably will wait until Monday, the deadline for responding to the protest, before making a decision, said James K. Brookshire, executive director of the district.
Tidewater Bridge and Tunnel Builders, which built the original span, filed its objection May 5 with the commission, one day after the commission announced it would award a contract for $197.2 million to a joint venture led by PCL Civil Constructors Inc. of Denver.
Tidewater Bridge and Tunnel Builders was the losing bidder by $3.7 million, or less than 2 percent. The company is a joint venture of Norfolk-based Tidewater Construction Corp. and Kiewit Construction Co. of Omaha, Neb.
``We just want to present our side and hopefully they'll listen,'' said Ed McLaughlin, president and chief executive of Tidewater Construction. ``We'll see what happens.''
Tidewater Construction, as general partner of Tidewater Bridge and Tunnel, presented a short list of objections to the contract award in a May 5 filing in Northampton Circuit Court seeking a temporary injunction to prevent the commission from signing a contract with PCL.
In the filing, Tidewater alleged that the Bay Bridge and Tunnel District ``improperly disclosed details regarding (Tidewater's) proprietary construction equipment and techniques to other potential bidders.''
It also said that the low bid by the PCL joint venture did not comply with engineering specifications for the construction of the concrete cylinder piles on which the the bridge will stand.
Tidewater also alleged that the commission may award the contract to a company other than the low bidder if ``it is deemed in the best interest of the district.''
McLaughlin said there are some economic impact issues that need to be considered, but he declined to discuss them further.
The Northampton Board of Supervisors passed a resolution Tuesday asking the commission to give favorable consideration to Tidewater's bid because of the importance of Bayshore Concrete Products in Cape Charles to the economy of Northampton County. A subsidiary of Tidewater, Bayshore is Northampton's largest employer.
Bayshore's plant was built to make concrete pieces for the original construction of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, which opened in 1964.
Tidewater sought the injunction because it wasn't given access to details of the winning bid. The commission agreed May 5 to delay awarding the contract for a week, giving Tidewater an opportunity to examine the bid and elaborate on its protest.
Tidewater's attorney, Henry P. Bouffard, said he was filing a supplement to the company's protest Thursday with the commission. He declined to elaborate on the details of the protest.
Brookshire said he could not respond to any of the specific allegations in the injunction request, nor would he elaborate on Tidewater's protest.
Work on the 18-mile project had been scheduled to start in June and be completed by 1999.
The new bridge is being added to improve traffic flow and safety. The planned parallel span will merge with the old span at the two tunnels. New tunnels will be added sometime after the turn of the century. by CNB