The Indiana Department of Transportation heard bids from two contractors Wednesday and will award the McKinley construction project to one of them by early next week, officials said.
The state threw out the contractors' bids last month when they were both higher than the state engineer's recommendations.
The McKinley contract will be awarded to the lowest bidder early next week, and preconstruction meetings will begin shortly after, Bruno Canzian, a manager at the Indiana Department of Transportation, said.
The state had to have a special bid letting session Wednesday to avoid problems with Ball State's construction timeline, Canzian said.
"We're trying to be flexible and accommodate local concerns," he said. "A few weeks of waiting on bids could make a big difference in the contract."
According to state documents, the lowest bidder was E and B Paving Inc. of Anderson, bidding around $5.4 million. The other contractor, Brooks Construction Company Inc., bid $5.5 million.
Brian Crume, area manager of E and B Paving, said he expects to be awarded the project on Monday.
At $5.4 million, the project is paid for primarily by federal money, but Ball State is required to pay 20 percent of the total expenses.
"The federal government can't award money to Ball State for streets owned by the city of Muncie," James Lowe, director of facilities assessment and engineering, said.
Federal money must be given to public agency projects, Lowe said. In order for Ball State to obtain federal funding for the McKinley Project, the university had enter into an agreement with the city of Muncie.
The portion of expenses Ball State has to pay, around $1.1 million, is already appropriated in the university's budget, Lowe said.
Construction is set to begin May 9, as soon as possible after spring commencement, Lowe said.
"Ball State has a very aggressive schedule for the project," Crume said. "We're going to have a lot of people out there doing a lot of different things in a small area. It's going to be hectic, but we should be able to meet the deadline."
Crume said he anticipates crews will work six days a week from May 9 until classes begin in August.
The project will include repaving McKinley Avenue, adding a median and expanding the avenue around the west side of Shafer Tower.
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