Segment of project area is near Beach Road intersection
With the Sarasota County Commission’s recent approval of the contract for the work, the replacement of a water main along sections of Midnight Pass Road near the Beach Road intersection on Siesta Key is expected to begin in June, county staff says.
The bid award went to Douglas N. Higgins Inc. of Naples, according to a May 5 staff memo provided to the commissioners in advance of their meeting that day.
The completion of the $409,708.50 initiative is anticipated in October, according to the most recent project fact sheet, which The Sarasota News Leader obtained through a public records request.
The county paid $149,840 to Giffels-Webster Engineers Inc. of Englewood for the project design, that fact sheet notes.
A water main, Trenchlesspedia.com explains, “is a primary underground pipe in a municipal water distribution system. It is a major artery that supplies water to smaller pipes on the way to homes and businesses. Water mains take clean water from a city’s [or county’s] water treatment plant to communities that need it, and it is a critical piece of a nation’s utility infrastructure.”
Douglas N. Higgins also will handle a sewer force main project in the Venice Gardens area as part of its county contract. Altogether, for that work and the Siesta initiative, the company submitted a bid of $577,108.50, a county Procurement Department document shows. The highest bid — $1,059,483.75 — came in from Westra Construction Corp. of Palmetto, the Procurement Notice of Award form says. Four companies vied for the contract.
“The Midnight Pass Road water main replacement project … is for the relocation and replacement of the existing aged and undersized potable [drinking] water lines,” the May 5 staff memo noted. “The new lines [also] will provide improved access for maintenance,” the memo added.
“The new lines will provide improved water quality and increased capacity to residents [and] reliable fire protection,” the project fact sheet also pointed out.
Residents in the immediate project area “will be notified by postcard of upcoming construction at least two weeks prior to the start of work,” the memo said.
The water main initiative should be substantially completed within 120 days after the county issues the Notice to Proceed, which is the formal go-ahead, the contract pointed out. An extra 30 days will be allowed for final acceptance of the work, the contract added.
Funding for both initiatives will come out of money dedicated to the county’s Capital Improvement Program, the memo said.
A public meeting was conducted on Siesta Key on Jan. 16 to provide residents information about the Midnight Pass Road initiative, the memo added.