Local Contractor Selected for Minnesota Bridge Replacement/CDOT Wins National Wildlife Ecosystem Award/AGC Supports Gas Tax Hike

Longmont’s Flatiron Constructors will be part of the team that rebuilds the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis. Flatiron was selected on a “best-value” basis for the project.

Flatiron Constructors Selected
to Rebuild I-35W Bridge

Flatiron Constructors Corp. of Longmont has been selected by the Minnesota Department of Transportation as part of the design-build team for reconstruction of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis.

The I-35W bridge over the Mississippi River, reportedly the busiest bridge in the state, collapsed during rush hour on Aug. 1, plunging dozens of cars and their occupants into the river.

The winning bid was determined using Minnesota’s design-build, best-value procurement model, which combines a technical proposal score with a pricing component. In this instance, an A-plus-B provision was also incorporated into the formula, requiringproposers to bid a total number of days to complete the project, with each day valued at $200,000, said Tim Worke, director of the highway and transportation division of the Associated General Contractors of Minnesota.

Flatiron Constructors was awarded the highest technical proposal score, but bid the highest price, $233.7 million, and also included the greatest number of days, at 437, to complete the project. Flatiron’s team includes Mason Construction Co. and lead designer FIGG Bridge Engineers Inc.

Colorado Recognized Nationally
for Roads and Wildlife Work

The Colorado Department of Transportation and the Southern Rockies Ecosystem Project received the Exemplary Ecosystem Initiatives award in October from the Federal Highway Administration for the “Linking Colorado’s Landscapes” project.

The project identifies high-priority wildlife linkages in the state and develops in-depth mitigation assessments for the top 12 areas. Wildlife on the move need natural linkages between blocks of habitat—environmental connectors—offering them food, shelter and security as they travel through different landscapes.

“The emerging science of road ecology is beginning to unveil the real impacts that our transportation infrastructure has on wildlife movement. SREP is pleased to be working with CDOT as leaders in this field as we try to provide safe passage for wildlife across Colorado,” said SREP’s Monique DiGiorgio.

Colorado’s project was one of 20 national awards. CDOT is currently working on safe passage projects along I-70, U.S. 550 and U.S. 160 in the southwest corner of the state, U.S. 285 and 9 near Denver, and U.S. 82 near Aspen.

AGC of America Supports
Increase in Gasoline Tax

The Associated General Contractors of America issued a statement of support for the National Highway System Bridge Reconstruction Initiative in September that includes a potential increase in the federal excise tax on gasoline. Twelve percent, or approximately 72,000, of the nation’s bridges are classified as “structurally deficient.”

Bridges are just one component of the nation’s transportation network that supports the nation’s $14-trillion economy; other system needs exist and require solutions to address a variety of mobility challenges, the AGC statement said.

In its support for increasing investment in transportation infrastructure and a potential increase in the federal excise tax on gasoline, AGC recommends that the tax be indexed to account for the expected inflation in construction costs, which will diminish the purchasing power of future funding increases.

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