Cost of box culvert is higher than expected by Winneshiek County

When the City of Decorah opened bids Monday on the construction of Segment 8 of the Trout Run Trail, city officials were not the only ones watching with interest.

Part of the bid included a project to install a box culvert under the Middle Calmar Road--a project that is the financial responsibility of Winneshiek County.  County Engineer Lee Bjerke on Wednesday told supervisors that the low bid came in higher than expected.

Skyline Construction will charge $267,933 for the culvert construction.  Bjerke had estimated that the project would cost $257,000.  But supervisors had plugged $150,000 into the county budget, based on original cost estimates.

Bjerke says the box culvert is more complex than first thought, due largely to the need to handle runoff rainwater.

County supervisors will act on the bid at a future meeting, perhaps their meeting next Monday.