After parting ways with the contractor once expected to build the new Francis Scott Key Bridge, Maryland is aiming to select four replacement contractors by late next spring.
Disagreements over cost compelled the state to break ties in April with the Kiewit Corp., the large Nebraska-based firm that designed the new bridge, and split the construction project into four separate parts.
“It enables us to have more competition among contractors,” said Jim Harkness, chief engineer for the Maryland Transportation Authority, during a news conference at the bridge site Wednesday. “It also gives us the benefit to encourage and expand opportunities for our local workforce.”
So far, the state has opened two of the four contracts to new bidders, including the largest one, which will cover the main span of the bridge running over the Patapsco River. The state isn’t expecting to award that contract — which has an estimated value between $3.5 billion and $4 billion — until next spring.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Christine Condon over at Maryland Matters
