Robert Street reconstruction is looking more expensive than predicted. Again.
Companies recently submitted bids for the second phase of the corridor overhaul. The lowest option is $1.3 million more than SRF, the city's engineering consultants, estimated.
It's a familiar problem for West St. Paul, which has faced numerous financial roadblocks during the controversial project. The upgrade is now estimated to cost $42 million to complete. That's $4 million more than the city has secured for the remake of the road.
This week, city officials argued over how to handle the latest hurdle.
When bids for the first phase of construction came in $7.8 million over estimates, the council rebid the project. This time, delays that come with rebidding would bring a new round of expenses, as the city would have to renew property easements — a costly process that the council was not keen on.
"The numbers are increasing, increasing, increasing," said Mayor Dave Meisinger, who has routinely critiqued spending on Robert Street. "Time is not on our side and money is not either."
Meisinger urged city officials to cut costs by reviewing what can be taken out of the project. One item that might be cut or postponed? Decorative monuments — still undefined — that would be built at the entrance to the corridor.
"The frosting on the cake we don't need right now," he said.
