Local company Beale and Inch Construction have been recommended for a project to build a new outlet dyke and control structure at Quarry Pond this fall, as part of Phase III of the Lorne Street Stormwater Mitigation project.
The bid from Beale and Inch came in well below the budgeted amount for the project, as well as all other bids. While Beale and Inch say they can complete the project for $461,744, other companies bid $855,743 and $1.49 million on the same project.
The Beale and Inch bid was so low that engineers at Englobe contacted the company to make sure they could complete the work at that price. The company confirmed it could, and so its expected council will approved the bid next week.
This past Tuesday, Councillor Sabine Dietz asked about the discrepancy in bids and Town Engineer Jon Eppell explained that each company evaluates a job differently.
“Contractors view how effortful it is for them to do the piece of work,” said Eppell. “I think in this case, the other two contractors viewed it as more complicated.” With Beale and Inch, said Eppell, “it’s more almost in their backyard… And so I think they viewed it as being easier for them.”
One more detail needs to be ironed out before construction can take place. Sackville needs to formally acquire the Pickard Quarry from its current owners, Mount Allison University.
“We were hoping to close on that property today,” CAO Jamie Burke told council on Tuesday. “There was a slight delay. So we’re hoping to do that as early as next week.”
The quarry project is part of Phase III of the Lorne Street Stormwater Mitigation project, which is being cost-shared by Sackville, the province, and the federal government.
Eppell pointed out that the rest of the project will require capital funding in the 2023 Town of Tantramar budget, which is being decided by the province.
“The other parts are to do a series of major culvert crossings, to construct the retention pond number three, and to make alterations to the aboiteau outlet,” said Eppell. The replacement of the aboiteau into the Tantramar River is the responsibility of the New Brunswick department of transportation and infrastructure.
The Sackville portions of the project being overseen by Englobe Engineering, and are in design now, said Eppell. “We expect that we’ll be in a position to attend to those before the end of the calendar year.”
“Assuming we have the appropriate budget next year to do it, then the work would proceed and we would see that done between January and September of next year,“ said Eppell.