By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw
WARSAW — After nearly two years of elevated prices associated with capital projects and road work, a ray of hope appeared from inside the Kosciusko County Courthouse.
That came in the form of a winning bid for two large paving projects that came in about $600,000 less than expected.
County Highway Superintendent Steve Moriarty told the county commissioners they expected the cost to be around $2.1 million and it came in at around $1.4 million.
Moriarty attributed it to falling petroleum prices.
“When we put out the engineer’s estimate, fuel prices were skyrocketing and they started to trend downward, so I think when those came out, it six months later,” Moriarty said.
Phend and Brown had the lowest bid and was awarded the work.
The projects involve Pierceton Road from Winona Lake to Pierceton. The other is on Old Road 30 from CR 450E to SR 13. The Old Road 30 work is an extension of what was done earlier, Moriarty said.
The projects will rely on state community crossings grant money that will cover half of the cost.
As a result of falling prices, Moriarty said the county will directly save about $300,000.
Both projects are expected to commence late this summer, he said.
He declined to suggest the leveling off of prices is here to stay, noting that other products the highway department relies on continue to be more expensive than in the past.
