Cadieux Road paving bid awarded to new contractor

GROSSE POINTE CITY — Work that was supposed to take place on a portion of Cadieux Road in Grosse Pointe City and Grosse Pointe Park this summer finally started this week.

Equipment and material mobilization for the resurfacing of Cadieux between Kercheval and Jefferson avenues was slated to start the week of Sept. 18, with construction expected to begin Sept. 25. It will include replacement of the top 3.5-inch layer of asphalt, along with storm and sanitary sewer repairs.

During an Aug. 21 Grosse Pointe City Council meeting, interim City Manager Stephen Poloni said “the project has been delayed” by the Michigan Department of Transportation because the low bidder, Ajax Paving, “did not meet the requirement of 6% of the contract being completed by DBE subcontractors.”

DBE, which stands for “Disadvantaged Business Enterprise,” is a federal program.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation website, the DBE program “ensures that federally assisted contracts for highway, transit and aviation projects are made available for small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.”

Poloni said Ajax submitted a request to MDOT to waive the 6% DBE requirement and representatives from the paving firm met with MDOT representatives July 7, but MDOT rejected the waiver, thus disqualifying Ajax’s bid.

Poloni recommended that the council accept the second-lowest submitted bid, from Florence Cement, which bid to do the work for $783,558.75 — an increase of $29,069.87 over the Ajax bid.

“And the bid is still valid — Florence is still willing to honor their bid?” City Councilwoman Maureen Juip asked.

Poloni said they were maintaining the original bid price from earlier this year.

City officials are familiar with the new contractor.

“We’ve used Florence before several times,” Mayor Sheila Tomkowiak said.

For the City, which is splitting the costs with the Park, the City’s additional share is increasing by $5,275.

The council voted unanimously to accept Florence’s bid for the work.

The City’s additional share of the cost will be paid out of the major road fund, Poloni said.

Grosse Pointe Park officials said this project should be finished in late November.