Pope said, "Georgia DOT actually opened bids on Phase One of the bypass Friday. We got six different companies that bid on the project. We are going through the bids now, and we hope to award the project to the contractor in early May."
Sunbelt Structures of Tucker was the apparent low bidder. Pope said the official awarding of the bid is expected at the next DOT board meeting May 4th. Pope said the low bid on the project was $16.7 million dollars, well under the $20 million dollars that was earmarked for the project.
Some elected officials have already been working to possiblly secure the savings from the under-budget contract and apply that toward Phase Two of the project. White County commissioner Edwin Nix said, "That would be the icing on the cake."
According to Pope, this is a new location project and a large portion of the work will not be seen by the public, because it would be done away from traffic areas. According to Pope they estimate about 2½ years for the total construction, but she said "we hope it is sooner than that."
State Senator Steve Gooch who attended the informational meeting said this will provide an economic boost to the local area and encouraged local people to check out the job possibilities.
Pope said they normally don't have a groundbreaking, but some local officials have asked that the DOT hold one to celebrate a milestone in the project.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2012/4/247937