Company removed from Wakota project likely to be St. Croix bridge contractor
A new bridge over the St. Croix River may be built by Ames/Lunda Joint Venture.
The construction duo bid $380 million for the project, which is the lowest of three bids. The Minnesota and Wisconsin Departments of Transportation still have to review details of the bid before the contract can be awarded.
In 2006, the Minnesota Department of Transportation canceled Lunda's original contract to build the Wakota Bridge after discovering a design flaw. The company later finished the project under a new contract.
After that episode, MnDOT revamped its processes to prevent design mistakes, St. Croix Crossing Project Director Jon Chiglo said.
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"We're very confident of the quality of this plan set and we'll move forward accordingly," he said. "That's not something that we anticipate seeing on this project at all."
If the Ames/Lunda partnership successfully completes its bid review, it will be awarded the St. Croix Crossing contract later this month. Chiglo doesn't anticipate any problems.
"They're very good contractors. We've worked with them on many projects," he said. "We've had very successful projects with both of those contractors as a team and in individual circumstances."
Construction is expected to take three years, with the St. Croix Crossing opening to traffic in fall 2016.