Little Rock — Bridge Contract

Rail Transit Online, September 2002

Gilbert Central Construction of Omaha submitted a $1.59-million low bid for adapting the Main Street Bridge over the Arkansas River for the River Rail streetcar project.  The offer was $154,000 over estimates but substantially less than the four other bids.  “It was a very competitive situation, and we're sure that is market price,” Central Arkansas Transit Authority (CATA) Executive Director Keith Jones told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.  “It would not be worth rebidding to get another $100,000 out of it. We'd probably end up going the other way.”  A low bid of $1.1 million had previously been received for the trolley’s maintenance facility, to be located in North Little Rock, $160,000 over estimates.  CATA expects to open bids for track laying and the traction power system in October.  The 2.2-mile (3.54 km) line linking the downtowns of Little Rock and North Little Rock is expected to cost $18.35 million, with a $7.5-million, 0.6-mile (1 km) second phase on the drawing board that would serve the proposed Bill Clinton presidential library in Little Rock.  A third phase is also being discussed as part of a study by consultants Carter-Burgess that would extend the line farther east on the Little Rock side of the Arkansas River to Adams Field, the regional airport.  River Rail backers anticipate the streetcar could be developed into an area-wide light rail system.