2 bidders for project reflection of climate

Not even a $469 million paycheck was enough to increase the number of bids the Florida Department of Transportation has been receiving lately.

More than 200 representatives from companies around the world showed up for a March workshop to hear about the project to widen Interstate 75 to six lanes in Lee and Collier counties. When it came time to formally turn in letters of response to pursue the job, though, only two did.

The 1 percent response rate was just the latest sign of the times in Southwest Florida, where a variety of factors is leading to fewer and fewer bidders on major road projects, even ones as lucrative as the I-75 contract.

"We were casting a wide net and encouraging as many different teams as we could get," said Mike Rippe, district director of transportation for FDOT. "We always like to receive a large number of bidders to enhance the competition."

That's not happening lately.

Rippe said the multitude of construction projects in Florida, combined with the growing scarcity of materials and workers — Lee County's employment rate was barely over 2 percent last month — has made competitive bidding a challenge in recent months.

Even though there was a lot of interest in the high-profile interstate project, FDOT was realistic about the number of bids, he said.

"We have not been receiving a real high number of bids. This is pretty much in line with what we've been seeing," Rippe said. "Only so many firms can handle that size work, even in doing these joint ventures."

On the I-75 job, only the two teams of construction, consulting and design companies that turned in letters can bid on the 35-mile roadway project.

The companies teamed up because the Department of Transportation is bidding the job as a design/build/finance project, which means each team will have to design the roadway, build it and finance the $469 million needed to do the job. The transportation agency will reimburse the money in yearly increments.

The two teams — made up of 11 companies — all have ties to Florida.

The Anderson Colombia Co. Inc. and Ajax Paving Industries have formed a joint venture with Leware Construction Company and HDR Engineering. Anderson Colombia is a Lake City-based company that is no stranger to I-75, said Joe Anderson III, whose father founded the 48-year-old company.

The I-75 widening in Lee and Collier would be the largest project the company has attempted, he said, but Anderson Colombia has a good-sized work force. The company is looking for more workers, he said.

Supplies might not be a challenge because Anderson Colombia is involved in the construction materials business, he said.

"We know what we're doing. We've been doing this for 50 years," he said.

Anderson Colombia's partner, Ajax, has Fort Myers offices and has tackled many projects in Lee and Collier counties, including the widening of U.S. 41 from Old 41 Road to Corkscrew Road and the widening of Goodlette-Frank Road.

Leware Construction Company is based in Leesburg, and HDR Engineering has an office called Construction Control Corp. in Bonita Springs.

The other team that submitted a letter of response is a joint venture called KSG Contractors. KSG is a team made of Kiewit Construction Co., which has Tampa offices, and Granite Construction Company, which did the work on the Interstate 4/Interstate 275 interchange in Tampa.

Subcontractors for KSG will be Fort Myers-based Zep Construction Co., and APAC's Florida operations. The Parsons Transportation Group; Reynolds, Smith & Hills and The LPA Group, all of which have Florida offices, will assist with the project.

Parsons is doing engineering work now on a $35 million job for the South Florida Water Management District.

I-75 will be widened to six lanes from State Road 80 south to Golden Gate Parkway, including 37 bridges and the complete reconstruction of two interchanges: one at Daniels Parkway and another at Immokalee Road.

FDOT wants the work to get started next April and be finished by the beginning of 2010. The team of companies can also earn up to $1.5 million in incentives, or $100,000 per day for 150 days, if the widening is completed ahead of schedule.

That means the widening could be completed by the end of 2009.