A roadway reconstruction project on a four-block section of West Foster Avenue in State College is expected to begin later this month following a contract approval by Borough Council on Monday night.
HRI, Inc., of State College, was awarded the contract with a low bid of $1,428,225. Glenn O. Hawbaker was the only other bidder at $1,436,685, according to information provided with the meeting agenda.
The engineer’s cost estimate was $1,334,725.
The project will consist of complete roadway reconstruction of West Foster Avenue from South Atherton Street to South Fraser Street. It will include roadway pavement, structure replacement, curbs and gutters, driveway aprons, ADA-compliant curb ramps, sidewalk restoration, sanitary sewer main and lateral replacement and stormwater sewer improvements, Director of Public Works Sam Robbins wrote in a project summary.
Replacement of a waterline is also included and the cost will be reimbursed by the State College Borough Water Authority.
The borough anticipates issuing a notice to proceed and substantial completion is expected in December, with final restoration by May 1.
Council approved the bid without discussion as part of its consent agenda.
It marked the third round of bidding for the project. The first two failed to get bidders who met the provisions of the borough’s Responsible Contractor Ordinance before council waived the requirements.
The project is one of several that received no bids from RCO-qualified contractors since it went into effect in March that prompted council on Monday to suspend the requirements through the end of the year. The suspension is intended to allow the borough to bid two time-sensitive projects over the next 60 days without requiring a waiver if no RCO-qualified bids are received, and to allow staff and the borough solicitor to work on amendments to improve the bidding process while maintaining the intent of the ordinance.
The RCO, which was approved by council last fall, includes requirements related to safety training and prevailing wage payments, as well as that 70% of the craft labor workforce on projects over $250,000 be journeypersons who have completed a state- or federally-approved apprenticeship training program or registered apprentices currently enrolled in such a program.
State law requires contracts to be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder but does not define “responsible.” Ordinances like State College’s and a similar measure adopted by Centre County Government in 2023 define it in a way that proponents, like labor unions, say helps to ensure worker safety and timely, cost-effective work on public projects. The measure was generally opposed by groups like the Associated Builders & Contractors Keystone, which said it favors union shops and freezes out otherwise qualified contractors who meet safety and quality standards through different means.
Borough Manager Tom Fountaine said on Monday that three projects meeting the RCO threshold have been advertised since the spring and received no bids from contractors meeting the provisions. In addition to the Foster Avenue project, the requirements were also waived for construction of the High Point skatepark after no qualified bids were received. The third project, which Fountaine did not identify, has not been re-advertised.
