WW firm wins bid battle for Neel Bridge

Harry Johnson Plumbing and Excavating of Walla Walla was awarded a $412,655 contract in a crowded bidding market to rebuild Neel Bridge on Little Alkali Road near Dusty.

Public Works Director Mark Storey said the firm expects to begin work within a month.

Harry Johnson was the lowest of eight firms to bid on the project, with all but one submitting bids lower than the county’s estimated price tag.

Storey said the number of bids, which came from as far away as eastern Oregon, is both a blessing and a curse. He said the competition brings in low price quotes, but also pushes contractors to stretch requirements of bridge inspectors.

The county had figured a cost of $586,739.50 to build the bridge. The new bridge will be a 65-foot single span pre-cast concrete structure to replace a wooden bridge.

Most of that cost will come out of federal bridge replacement funds.

Harry Johnson just recently finished replacement of the Aune Bridge on the Big Alkali Road.

Also, county crews have posted a detour in east Whitman County as they replace a 32-foot bridge on the Viola Road which runs from Highway 27 to the Idaho state line.

Storey said crews will begin digging piles for the new concrete bridge this week. He expects the detour will remain in place for four to five weeks while crews finish the work.

County crews also installed several rows of yellow speed bumps on the roadway and additional signage at the intersection of Wawawai Road and Steptoe Canyon Road along the Snake River.

Storey said the intersection has seen a lot of accidents as drivers enter the hairpin curve that goes over railroad tracks without slowing down.