Construction on Whitefish’s Texas Avenue project will move forward as the Council approved the sole bid that came in for the project even though it was over 20% higher than the engineer’s estimate.

The only bid received by the city was for a little over $3 million dollars and was submitted by the Kalispell-based company, LHC. The estimate for the job was $2.8 million.

Whitefish Public Works Director Craig Workman explained that while there was only one bid received, LHC is a reputable company that has successfully completed numerous projects for Whitefish in the past.

He feels that although it is higher than expected, the bid is competitive and the staff recommended approval. Council had no questions and voted unanimously to accept the bid during the April 4 council meeting.

“Staff is of the opinion that the bid LHC submitted was competitive in nature,” Workman said. “We were in communication with other contractors up until the hour of the bidding, assuming that additional bids would be submitted and LHC was aware of that, so it’s my opinion that even though there was only one bid, we do think it was very competitive.”

Originally, the plan was to pay for the project with resort tax funds, stormwater dollars and water impact fees. Now, with the price tag at a little over $3 million, Workman says the 2023 fiscal year budget can cover the difference.

City Council gave public works the go ahead to get bids for the second phase of the Edgewood Place Project in February. The second phase of the project involves reconstruction of the stretch of Texas Avenue from Edgewood Place north to Denver Street and Edgewood Place from Texas Avenue to the eastern city limits.

The project has many components including a wider road with vertical face curbs, a new stormwater system, lighting, and a bike/walking path. The water main and sewer lines will remain and parts replaced only if deemed necessary after an inspection.

The issue of lighting generated the most public input as many residents of the area voiced desires for their neighborhood to keep a rural feel and not have lights of any kind. After much discussion, it was determined at the February 22 city council meeting, that the road will have standard street lights at the intersections and smaller bollard lights placed between them.

Construction on the project began in summer of 2021. The first phase involved the reconstruction of Edgewood Place from Colorado Avenue to Texas Avenue and was expected to be finished in early summer of 2022.

Phase two will begin in May and is expected to last about 150 days.