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The Arkansas Department of Highway and Transportation has awarded Primoris James Construction Group’s $60 million bid for the construction of bridges and their associated road approaches along Interstate 40 at Blackfish and Shell lakes.
Winning the bid Subsidiary of Dallas firm Primoris Services awarded $60 million in contracts for Interstate 40 bridge construction in Arkansas.
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“For most projects, it’s the lowest bidder,” Straessle says. “However, on big jobs like these, we not only take into consideration the low bid, but the num- ber of working days in which the project will be complete. There are 135 working days in a year.” The highway department does not keep a list of contractors that are contacted when jobs become available. Rather, the companies keep track of what’s on the horizon. “Projects are advertised on the department website and in The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette ,” Straessle said. “Contractors track projects in development and usually know when they are going to bid. This is a proactive approach on the part of contractors, as they plan which jobs they will bid.” Primoris is no stranger to big contracts. Founded in 1960, the companyprovides a rangeof construction, fabrication, maintenance, replacement, water and “They have to make sure they don’t default – financially or performance- wise. Some contracts have a financial penalty if not completed within a certain amount of time.”
By RICHARD MASSEY Correspondent
P rimoris James Construction Group , a division of Primoris Services Corporation (Dallas, TX), is building two bridges and associated road approaches on Interstate 40 in St. Francis County, east of Forrest City, Arkansas. Primoris, one of the largest publicly traded spe- cialty construction and infrastructure companies in the United States, was awarded the contracts, which totaled $60 million, by the Arkansas High- way and Transportation Department in March. No- tices to proceed were issued in April. The two bridges, one spanning Blackfish Lake and the other Shell Lake, are set to be completed in the first quarter of 2017. The projects are similar in size and scope and include 84 cofferdams, 36,780 linear feet of steel pipe, and 9,800 cubic yards of bridge concrete. Though eight contractors had proposal packets, only two vied for the job. Primoris outbid competi- tor Mobley Contractors Inc. (Morrilton, AR) by a margin of about $2.4 million. Primoris bid $26.9 million on Blackfish Lake, and $33.1 million on Shell Lake. The firm not only submitted the low- est bid, but also proposed the shortest timeframe needed to complete the work, according to highway spokesperson Danny Straessle.
See PRIMORIS, page 4
THE ZWEIG LETTER JULY 13, 2015, ISSUE 1111
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