Bids taken for Black River restoration project

Bids have been taken for the Black River Area of Concern Reclamation Site Restoration Project for local contractors to move dirt on the Black River in the area between the steel mills and riverbank near East 28th Street in Lorain. The bids were taken at a meeting Feb. 22 in the Lorain City Council Chambers. “The project is essentially moving existing material, capping it off and checking for any hazardous materials,” said Kate Golden, storm water manager in Lorain’s Engineering Department. Philip Turske, contract and grant administrator for the city, said the meeting was to read the bids and have them taken to be tallied. “Today was a formal reading of the amount of each bid and the company making the bid for the project,” Turske said. “The auditor’s office will tally the bid amounts and the city will look at each company’s bid and choose which one the city will reward the contract to.” The project, part of a restoration effort paid for by a $15 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is to improve the Black River’s water quality. By March 8, the contract will be awarded to one of the bidders and the work will begin soon after. The estimated end date for the project is Sept. 30. The bids that were made were $4,386,292 by Mark Haynes Construction out of Norwalk; $7,687,148.45 by Environmental Management Specialists out of Cleveland; $5,625,092.70 by Sitetech Excavating out of Grafton; $7,180,344 by Speer Brothers in Sandusky; and $4,202,026.16 by Mark Schaffer Excavating and Trucking out of Norwalk.

ZACHARY SRNIS — THE MORNING JOURNAL Philip Turske, contract and grant administrator for the city of Lorain, left, reads bids for the project in front of John Strader, Lorain’s assistant deputy auditor.