ASHLAND — Ashland County’s engineer blamed inflation for higher prices of annual countywide projects that received bids on Thursday.
Ashland County commissioners opened bids to three annual countywide projects on Thursday. None of the several contractors have been awarded the projects as county engineer Ed Meixner will look them over and make suggestions likely next week.
The bids included total prices for the purchase of liquid asphalt materials, pavement marking and asphalt concrete.
After each bid, Meixner reminded commissioners what the county spent on each particular project in 2022.
For the first bid opening, contractors put forth cost totals for the purchase of 250,000 gallons of liquid asphalt material, which is used by maintenance crews to chip and seal around 45 miles of road around Ashland County.
The lone bidder, Asphalt Materials, priced the materials at $625,600. Last year, that number was $601,000, Meixner said.
The second bid opening produced five proposals for pavement markings, which will lead to the painting of center lines and some edge lines on 280 miles of county roads. Meixner estimated the project at $305,000.
The lowest bidder, J.D. Striping, came in at $274,384. Last year’s cost equaled $240,000, Meixner said.
The next bids were for paving 18 miles of various county roads, an estimated $2.1 million.
The low bid came from Melway Paving Co., with a price point of just under $1.6 million.
Meixner said it cost the county $1.67 million to pave 20 miles of roads last year.
“Just want to give you guys those numbers to see how inflation is costing us,” Meixner said, addressing the county commissioners.
The roads up for repaving in the county are County Road 956 and portions of county roads 500, 601, 1302 and 2000.
