By GAGE WILSON
For Glasgow News 1
Two large-scale construction projects dominated discussion at Tuesday evening’s meeting of the Glasgow Finance Committee: the bridge leading to the parking structure between Subway and the Barren County Clerk’s office, and the parking lot retaining wall on the west side of the square.
The bridge project saw a sharp increase in cost after bids came in far higher than the original engineer’s estimate. The lowest bid – and the one the city plans to move forward with – was $697,026, roughly $296,000 above the original $401,000 estimate prepared by Qk4, the engineering firm partnered with the city.
The city currently has $359,000 budgeted for “contractual improvements,” a line item set aside for repairing and replacing aging infrastructure.
“We originally had budgeted $410,000… some of the money that has been sitting has already been spent on the bridge to Qk4,” said City Treasurer Victoria Simmons. “So some of the expense that has already been expended is related to the project.”
Public Works Superintendent Jim McGowan distributed documents showing both the original estimates and the bids received. Adams Contracting, LLC submitted the lowest bid at $697,026 for the demolition and reconstruction of the bridge.
“They were planning on it being a shallow spread footing, where the bridge meets between the Subway and the county building,” McGowan said of the discrepancy between the estimate and the bids. “With the geotechnical investigation that was done on the project, that is not the best structure underneath it to hold up that bridge.”
A shallow spread footing is a construction method that distributes a structure’s weight over a wider but relatively shallow area, making soil conditions an important factor in the stability and longevity of the bridge.
The committee agreed that splitting the project across two fiscal years would be the best option. Under that plan, the $80,000 demolition portion would be paid from the current budget, with the remaining construction cost coming out of the 2026–27 budget.
“You’re not going to have to spend unallocated dollars this year,” Councilman Terry Bunnell said.
That approach would also leave enough money to begin work on the retaining wall along W. Main Street. Six bids were received for the project, with the lowest coming from Elizabethtown based Outdoor Specialties & Landscaping, LLC. at $262,294.
“They have an outstanding resume with these kinds of walls,” McGowan said. “This is all they do.”
While the committee hopes to come in under budget, Bunnell noted that costs could still fluctuate slightly.
Key Facts
– Glasgow Finance Committee reviewed two major construction projects downtown
– Pedestrian bridge bid came in at $697,026, about $296,000 over the $401,000 estimate
– Adams Contracting submitted the low bid for bridge demolition and reconstruction
– Soil conditions ruled out the originally planned shallow spread footing design
– Committee plans to split roughly $80,000 in demolition and remaining bridge costs across two fiscal years
– Strategy is intended to avoid using unallocated dollars in the current budget
– Plan would still allow work to begin on a retaining wall along West Main Street
– Outdoor Specialties & Landscaping was low bidder on the wall at $262,294
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