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County takes a mulligan on Ecusta Trail bids

By Lightning Reports, Published: August 8, 2023

Henderson County will take another swing at signing a contractor to build the first six miles of the Ecusta Trail.

Monday's bid opening at an engineering firm's office in Asheville drew just two bidders, one less than required under state law to open and grant bids.

"We are already working with staff to readvertise this and get that open as soon as possible and hopefully in the next few weeks have a second bid opening on that project," Christopher Todd, the county's director of business and community development, told county commissioners Monday night.

The lack of bidders was  somewhat surprising given the turnout for a mandatory pre-bid meeting last month. Twenty contractors showed up then and 13 took bid packages home with them.

Commissioner Bill Lapsley, a retired civil engineer, said the shortage of bids could be attributable to numerous factors.

"Timing. There's a lot of construction going on, so contractors are booked up, so that would be a reason," he said. Bonding capacity could be an issue, too, for smaller firms that lack "a strong financial statement." He added, "I'm still comfortable that we're going to get good competitve bids."

A second bid opening should happen in the next couple of weeks. 

"We're no longer required to have three," Todd said. "Whatever the responses are, we are able to open them and evaluate them at that time."
 

The initial six-mile leg of the trail runs from Busy Bend on Kanuga Road and to Battle Creek Road at U.S. 64 in Horse Shoe. The trail will be 14 feet wide from downtown Hendersonville to White Pine Drive and 12 feet wide from Laurel Park to Horse Shoe. Provided the county lands a contractor, it's expected that the path will be graded and built up with a hard-packed base of aggregate by the end of the year. Paving is not expected to happen until next spring.