In May, Indiana launched the Indiana Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI), which will dedicate $500 million in state appropriations to promote strategic investments for quality of place and talent attraction.
Northwest Indiana Getting its Swagger Back insideindianabusiness.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from insideindianabusiness.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District on Monday rejected the two bids it received last week for the main construction work on its South Shore Line Double Track project in hopes of bringing the cost closer to engineers estimates.
After a five-month procurement process, during which 66 informational packets were requested, NICTD received bids from F.H. Paschen, S.N. Nielsen & Associates at about $399.7 million, and from a Walsh/Herzog joint venture at about $424.5 million. The bids were substantially higher than anticipated, with the low bid 75% higher than the estimate of approximately $228.6 million.
South Shore President and General Manager Michael Noland said the railroad will talk to the two bidders and others to try to find ways to streamline the project.
Bids for South Shore Double Track project rejected as railroad attempts to bring price in line with estimates nwitimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nwitimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The price is definitely higher than we had anticipated, South Shore President Michael Noland said.
The railroad had expected four bids, he said. The two it received were from F.H. Paschen, S.N. Nielsen & Associates, and from a Walsh/Herzog Joint Venture. The Paschen bid was the lower of the two.
The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District board will now need to decide whether to accept the best bid or reject them in an effort to achieve a lower price.Â
Noland said the railroad, along with its advisers and the Federal Transit Administration, will review the proposals to find out where the bids were high and see if there s an opportunity to rebid.