Charles City airport accepts runway rehab project bid for next fall

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

The North Cedar Aviation Authority on Wednesday accepted a bid for a rehabilitation project to be done next fall on the Charles City airport’s main runway, even though the lowest bid was a third higher than had been estimated.

The project will include some full thickness pavement patching, some partial depth pavement patching, replacing joint sealer between pavement sections and then repainting the markings on the 4,000-foot-long 12/30 runway.

The engineer’s estimated project cost was $193,000, but the lowest of two bids received was for $257,250, from Screed Tech of Fairbury, Nebraska. A second bid of $268,500 was received from Wicks Construction of Decorah.

Eric Johnson, an airport consultant through Clapsaddle-Garber Associates, the airport’s engineering firm, said the industry has been seeing bids coming in higher than expected, likely because of higher materials costs and higher labor costs.

“We’re seeing this very common that there are some of those items that are higher than what we had anticipated,” Johnson said, adding that he had talked that morning with Matt Garber, the president and CEO of Clappsaddle-Garber, who told him that city and county project bids had also been coming in higher than expected.

Johnson said a third bid had arrived about 25 minutes after the bid deadline Wednesday morning, and so by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules and state law it had to be returned to the bidder unopened.

“It’s too bad, but that happens. They missed the cutoff time,” Johnson said.

Jeff Sisson, the chair of the aviation authority which owns and operates the Northeast Iowa Regional Airport east of Charles City, said the project needs to be done, even at the higher price.

Funding for the project will come 90% from the FAA, assuming that organization approves the bid, and 10% from the airport. The FAA had already approved the project itself.

With engineering fees, total project cost would be about $328,250, so the airport authority’s share would be $32,825.

Sisson said the project is scheduled to be done next fall, perhaps in August or September, after federal funding for the next fiscal year becomes available.

Sisson asked Johnson if Screed Tech was familiar with working on airport projects and working with the airport manager to make sure the runways are closed for as short a time as possible.

Johnson said the Nebraska company was very qualified and he had done several projects with the company that were “exactly like this.”

“I’ve kind of noticed lately they’re trying to maybe get an established business in Iowa. They’ve been bidding more of our airport projects in Iowa,” he said.

Johnson added that the Screed Tech president is a pilot and aircraft owner, so he is familiar with the requirements of airports.

“They certainly meet all the requirements of the project,” Johnson said.

Runways are named according to the approximate compass direction they are pointed, with the last zero removed. For example, runway 12/30 runs 120 degrees southeast when approached toward that direction, and 300 degrees northwest when approaching in that direction.