EPCAL bike trail bids too high, Riverhead Town Board says
The bids to construct the rest of the EPCAL Bicycle Path/Vietnam Veterans Memorial Trail all came in higher than anticipated, and the Town Board formally rejected them Wednesday and will issue a new request for proposals for the job.
Despite this, Councilwoman Jodi Giglio said she is still hopeful the job can be completed in the spring this year.
The board in January issued a request for proposals for the job instead of using contractors off a New York State contract because those companies were charging too much, according to Ms. Giglio.
Those prices were about $200,000 for one mile of track, whereas the three miles the town already built were done for $200,000, she said.
When the new bids came in, she said the lowest was for $700,000, and the others were all more than $1 million, with the highest bid coming in at more than $2 million.
“We only have $850,000 to spend,” she said.
The goal is to complete a nine-mile loop around EPCAL using the former Grumman perimeter security path. About three miles have already been paved using in-house work from the town Highway Department and a $200,000 state grant. The town recently got an additional $650,000 in state grants plus a $200,000 county grant.
