Dallas expects new bridge bids to come in lower
City officials say estimates fell after talks with Calatrava's firm
Dallas Morning News, The (TX)
September 7, 2006
Author: EMILY RAMSHAW; Staff Writer
Estimated printed pages: 2

The second round of bids for the first skyscraping bridge spanning the Trinity River should fall within the city's price range, Dallas officials said Wednesday.
Initial bids for the Woodall Rodgers bridge shocked city officials by coming in at nearly twice Dallas' budget in June. Dallas City Council member Ed Oakley said meetings this summer between the bridge's architect and potential contractors cleared up questions and brought cost estimates down substantially - with no major design alterations.

"I was told they got very close" to Dallas' $65 million price tag, said Mr. Oakley, chairman of the council's Trinity River committee. "I'm very optimistic we'll get a bid that's back close to our budget."

The Texas Department of Transportation will reopen bidding next week. The lowest offer will be unveiled three weeks later, on Oct. 5.

But industry experts questioned how contractors would shave nearly $50 million off earlier bids, which started at $113 million, without dramatically altering the 40-story bridge's appearance. Second bids often rise for bridge and highway projects, they said.

And City Manager Mary Suhm has vowed that, without lower bids this time around, the bridge will see a major - and visually obvious - redesign.

The cost increases have complicated plans for a second bridge at Interstate 30 and have jeopardized a possible third bridge at Interstate 35E. All three bridges were designed to be Dallas landmarks, icons for the city's Trinity River Project.

Ms. Suhm said Wednesday that she believes the bids will drop now that contractors have met with officials from architect Santiago Calatrava's firm and have cost-saving design alternatives from which to choose.

These include building the bridge's arch - its central helix - out of a cylindrical steel frame instead of a seven-sided frame. Other suggested that alterations include using multiple, smaller beams to support the bridge instead of a few larger ones, and replacing a large steel drainage pipe with PVC pipe.

None of these construction changes would compromise the bridge's design, Ms. Suhm said.

Ms. Suhm also indicated that contractors may opt to use lower-cost foreign steel under a federal "Buy America" provision, as long as the full price of the project is 25 percent less than a project using American steel. In the last bidding go-round, Ms. Suhm said, the foreign steel cost didn't meet that requirement.

"It's value engineering," she said. "We think there are opportunities for some improvements in the price."

The 1,800-foot Woodall Rodgers signature span was originally intended to cost $57 million. Since June's $113 million low bid, city officials have rustled up an additional $8 million.

Mr. Calatrava, who has a reputation for breaking budgets on his U.S. projects, has not returned repeated phone calls this summer on the cost overruns. But city officials blamed them on soaring steel, concrete and fuel prices, as well as the risks associated with building a one-of-a-kind architectural project.

Mr. Oakley said bids were so high the first time around because contractors were unsure how to proceed with such a high-profile project. They gave themselves some extra padding, he said.

Since the meetings with Mr. Calatrava's staff, "now everybody knows what's what," Mr. Oakley said. "They don't need to build in an unknown."

Bill Hale, district engineer in Dallas for the state Transportation Department, said it's unlikely many new construction firms would bid because the details of the bridge project have not changed dramatically. Three firms bid the first time.

But he and Ms. Suhm said there could be a couple of others that have watched from the wings and are now ready to bid.

"A lot of those people have looked at it before," Ms. Suhm said. "This is the second go-round now."

E-mail eramshaw@dallasnews.com.
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Copyright 2006 The Dallas Morning News
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