Kelso project bids come in hundreds of thousands of dollars below estimates
Recent bids to repave part of South Kelso Drive came in up to hundreds of thousands of dollars under the city's estimate, and separate bids to update the nearby Haussler water pump station came in up to about $186,000 under.
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Kelso Community Development Director Michael Kardas says the difference is cyclical. As inflation rises, the city tends to be more conservative in its opinions on costs.
A few years ago, bids were coming in over the city's opinion, he added.
"I'd rather be in this part of the cycle than the other," Kardas told The Daily News Monday.
He said the city has to see low bids for about six months before staff can be more aggressive about dropping theirs.
He also said contractors tend to have less work today, so bids are more competitive.
Data shows materials costs are also rising.
Washington State Department of Transportation reports the cost of asphalt cement rose about 15% from March 31, 2025, to March 30, 2026, in Western Washington.
South Kelso Drive
A project to grind and replace the asphalt on about a half mile of South Kelso Drive between the Coweeman bridge and Haussler Road came in nearly $250,000 under the city engineer's numbers, Kardas told the council last week.
The city engineer approximated the project would cost $550,443, but the lowest bid from Vancouver's Granite Construction was $304,286.
That bid wasn't an anomaly, either.
The other bid from Longview's Lakeside Industries, at about $438,630, came in roughly $110,000 under the city's number.
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The council unanimously agreed to Granite Construction's lowest bid on April 7, though Mayor Veryl Anderson and councilmembers Jackie Collins and Jim Hill were absent.
The Washington State Transportation Improvement Board also has to approve the bid, according to a city report, as the group funds 85% of the project through a grant that requires a 15% match, which the city has already set aside in the Arterial Street Fund.
Construction is expected to start in May and last about two months.
Councilmember Keenan Harvey said he was concerned about why the company would issue such a low bid.
Kardas said the company had done similar work with the city, and that the cyclical market pattern is now in the city's favor.
"This contractor actually has performed this very same project for us before, and we feel very confident the bid ... can be sustained," Kardas said.
Councilmember Brian Wood also questioned whether a plan to route a new water line across the bridge would affect the South Kelso Drive work. Kardas said it will likely have only a slight impact because the water line will be placed outside the pavement mat in that area.
Pump station
At the last meeting in March, Kardas explained that a city contractor reviewed the update to the water pump station at 101 Haussler Rd. and determined it would cost about $581,794.
However, the lowest bidder, DeWitt Construction, came in at about $395,323.
Of the eight bids, five came in below the city contractor's number.
The plan is to rehab the pump house and replace its electrical and mechanical components using funds from water rates, according to a city document.
"We seem to be in a very favorable bidding climate right now," Kardas said at the March 17 meeting.
Councilmember Brian Wood also questioned the low price, but Kardas again endorsed the bid.
The council unanimously OK'd that bid at that meeting, though councilmember Jim Hill was absent again.
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