Airport authority opens bids for hangars
Five bids for the hangar construction project at the Joseph A. Hardy – Connellsville Airport were opened Tuesday during a public meeting.
The $2 million project includes construction of six and, possibly, seven hangars. Two of the hangars will be 62 by 65 feet and the remaining hangars will be 56 by 52 feet, all of which will be large enough to accommodate larger planes than the airport can currently accommodate.
Airport authority members voted to ask interested bidders to supply an alternate bid on the cost of a seventh hangar, and agreed to award the contract based on cost and qualifications, as opposed to just cost, on the advice of authority engineer Michael Baker Jr. Inc. of Moon Township.
Allegheny Construction of Lemont Furnace submitted the lowest total bid, including the seventh hangar, at a cost of $1,536,000.
Trinity Construction Inc. of West Newton submitted the second lowest total bid at $1,551,095.
Fairchance Construction of Fairchance submitted a total bid of $1,557,857; General Industries of Charleroi submitted a total bid of $1,560,000; and Massaro Corp. of Pittsburgh submitted a total bid of $2,126,000.
However, Trinity Construction submitted the lowest bid for the construction of only six hangars at $1,356,000. Trinity Construction’s alternate bid for the seventh hangar was $195,095.
In addition, Allegheny Construction submitted a bid of $1,398,000 and an alternate bid of $138,000 for the seventh hangar.
General Industries submitted a bid of $1,390,000 and an alternate bid of $170,000; Fairchance Construction submitted a bid of $1,414,857 and an alternate bid of $143,000; and Massaro Corp. submitted a bid of $1,906,000 and an alternate bid of $220,000.
Michael Baker engineers will review the bids and submit their recommendation to the airport authority during an upcoming meeting so that a contract can be awarded.
Engineers previously said consideration will be given to bidders with experience completing projects at airports, which is why the project was advertised based on cost and qualifications.
Airport manager Mary Lou Fast said the authority is seeking the lowest, responsible bidder.
Plans call for the new hangars to be located near the terminal building, to the left of the building upon entrance to the facility, and the current 11 hangars that are there now will be torn down.
The $2 million project is being paid for, in part, with a $1 million Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) grant to help pay for the project.
State Sen. Richard A. Kasunic, D-Dunbar, aided the airport in securing the funds. The airport must match the $1 million with other funds.
The hangar construction project could begin as early as April and should be completed by the fall of 2011.
In addition to the construction of several hangars, also included in the project is the installation of gas and water lines, although neither will be connected to the new hangars, to allow for future development as needed.
The new hangars will have electricity, with separate meters on each new hangar so that the tenant will be responsible for his or her own electric usage.