State picks Pennsylvania contractor to build 522 bypass
by KATE SHUNNEY
West Virginia Highway officials have chosen the contractor who will build a four-lane U.S. 522 bypass around Berkeley Springs starting this year.
Trumbull Corporation won the bidding process for the highway project, submitting a bid of $59,822,690 to construct the roadway. The project includes three bridges and three at-grade intersections, and an interchange with Route 9.
Governor Jim Justice announced the project contract on Sunday, October 18 during a stop at Cacapon State Park.
Trumbull Corporation is part of Pennsylvania family of companies that specializes in heavy contracting, with offices in Pittsburgh, Exton and New Galilee, Pa. It was one of four out-of-state companies to bid on the bypass project.
Trumbull Construction beat out the next lowest bidder, A.L.L. Construction, Inc. of Mount Storm, W.Va., by $2.18 million.
Nine companies bid on the bypass contract, including five construction companies based in West Virginia. Bidding topped out at $73,180,728.
The Berkeley Springs Bypass project will be funded through the state’s Roads to Prosperity highway program, through state road bonds approved under a special state constitutional amendment passed in 2017.
Bid documents estimated construction work would begin this fall and the bypass would be completed by November of 2023.
The Division of Highways has not purchased all of the properties needed for the bypass route.
Why only a 3 mile bypass that dumps out near Sheetz? The town is expanding that direction on 522. In a few years time it seems like the bypass entrance/exit will be a problem because it will be apart of the town! Why not bring it out further south around Tractor Supply?
For 2 million dollars how many west virgins did you put out of work.You just lost my vote!!!!
The state is required by law,as well as any other state to go with the lowest bid. If some one is to go to jail, I elect you.You just throw that stiff out there. You have to know what you are talking about.
Unfortunately for us, if the RFP evaluation is LPTA, then the lowest bid is the only criteria for awarding (vs. “best-value” tradeoff criteria).