Kootenai County will expand its active landfill for millions of dollars less than expected, officials confirmed on Wednesday.

The commissioners voted to accept a $3.3 million bid from ACI Northwest Construction this week, to expand the Fighting Creek Landfill by 11 acres.

The bid falls considerably lower than the estimated $4.6 million to $5.8 million project cost.

"That's $1.2, $1.3 million below the low end of the engineer's estimate," said Roger Saterfiel, Solid Waste director.

Lower construction cost was partly the motivation for pursuing the project two years before the expansion was needed, Saterfiel said.

The current economic climate has builders competing more fiercely for contracts, he pointed out.

The county also chose to put the project out to bid early in the year, which Saterfiel said appeals to builders trying to plan their construction season.

"We anticipated (the bids) to be low, and the engineers were figuring low, too, because of the economy and the competition," Saterfiel said.

The expansion is provided from the Solid Waste budget, which is funded by user fees.

The benefit of saving on the project is pretty clear, Saterfiel said.

"Every time we save money, it means we don't have to raise fees," he said. "When we get big savings like this, it changes the dynamics of our entire financial planning."

Commissioner Dan Green said he had been pleasantly surprised by the low bids for the expansion on the landfill 16 miles south of Coeur d'Alene.

"It's indicative of the times," Green said. "We accelerated the construction of the expansion to take advantage of what we thought was a more aggressive building environment, and it looks like it's working out that way."

The expansion of the roughly 45-acre landfill could start in April, Saterfiel said, or as soon as weather allows.

Solid Waste services will not be impacted while the construction is under way, he said.

More than 4 billion pounds have entered the landfill since it began accepting waste in May 1993. It has gone through, and will continue to go through several construction phases as waste is added, according to the county website.

Saterfiel said Solid Waste is committed to long-term planning to keep rates low.

"I'm happy we were able to award (the project) to a local company," Saterfiel said of the expansion. "I'm extremely happy they were very competitive in their bid."