After a successful third round of contractor bidding, the Fassnight Stormwater Improvement Project at the Springfield Art Museum is anticipated to move forward with construction in the spring.
As part of the Springfield Art Museum Master Plan, the project involves the restoration of Fassnight Creek along Brookside Drive between Greene and Kings avenues. The goal of the project is to restore the creek to a naturalized channel, reducing the risk of flooding to the museum and surrounding residential properties, and for the benefit of flood mitigation, water quality and the creation of habitat for native birds and pollinators.
The City conducted two rounds of project bidding in early and mid-2020 that did not yield any feasible bids. As part of the City’s commitment to working with the contracting community, scheduling flexibility was added into third-round bid documents allowing for a flexible timeframe for contractors to begin construction and also allowing them to propose a feasible construction duration.
“We’ve learned that contractors have remained very busy throughout the pandemic,” explained Stormwater Engineer Kirkland Preston. “Instead of dictating to them when a project needs to start and end, we are asking contractors to propose a timeline based on their professional experience that will fit in with their busy work schedules.”
The City received three bids in mid-November 2020 with the apparent low bidder being Hartman & Company. Taking contract flexibility into account, Preston estimates construction could begin in April.
“We are thrilled to have finally presented a bid package that seemed attractive to the contracting community,” says Preston. “This project is vital to the protection of properties surrounding the creek and will provide a wide range of benefits to the neighborhood. We’re excited to see it moving forward.”