Final bridge project bid opened

Published 6:00 am Wednesday, May 1, 2019

More than four years after a $6 million bond issue was passed for emergency repairs to or replacement of 14 Iberia Parish bridges, bids were opened Tuesday on the final span to be built.

Four firms submitted their proposals to replace the Hayes Road bridge, which has been out of service since 2012. The low bid, from Southern Constructors, came in at $303,000, which is still $5,600 over the budgeted construction cost.

Iberia Parish Purchasing Officer Michael Broussard said he expects the low bid to be accepted and financial adjustments made to cover the overage.

“We are going to do a budget adjustment within the project budget,” Broussard said. “The funds will come from another line, like professional services.”

The other bids received were $331,950 from Matt Durand General Contractor, $433,000 from Merrick Construction, and $490,950 from Guinn Construction.

The replacement bridge will consist of a concrete roadway set on wooden pilings, Broussard said.

In March, the Iberia Parish Council was not sure if enough money remained from the bond issue to complete the project. A budget was considered and a request for proposals put out on April 2.

One of the causes of the near shortfall was the time it took to get the final bridge put out to bid. Sellers and Associates did the design work for the Railroad Road bridge over the Jefferson Canal, the Crochet Road bridge at Tete Bayou, the Gondron Road bridge, the John Lewis Road bridge, and two bridges on Bull Island Road — one at drainage canal L4-C and the other at Bayou Parc Perdue. All of those projects were completed by the end of 2017.

LaBiche Engineering was awarded the contract for design work on the Hayes Road bridge, as well as the railroad bridge over the Poulette Canal, the Back Road bridge over the Delahoussaye Canal, the Briarwood Road bridge over the Commercial Canal, the Bull Island Road bridge at Norris Branch, the Northside Road bridge, the Norris Road bridge at Segura Branch, and the Coulee Road bridge.

Throughout the project, the firm has struggled to meet deadlines for putting the bridges out to bid. When delays initially occurred, Engineer Wayne LaBiche said in June 2016 that projects would begin going out for bid in August of that year. Then, when that deadline was missed, he said all of the spans would be ready for bid by the end of March 2017, more than two years before the final bridge was actually bid out.