E.D. Swett wins $13.8m Broad Street Parkway contract

Project consists of two separate bridge-building jobs

E.D. Swett Inc. of Concord has been awarded the $13.8 million contract to build one of the final pieces of the Broad Street Parkway in Nashua.

Members of city’s the aldermanic finance committee unanimously approved signing the contract with Swett, which submitted the lowest of five bids for the work.

The contract consists of two separate bridge-building projects. One will yield a new bridge over the Nashua River, as well as minor roadway work on either side of the bridge and installation of ornamental lighting.

The second project will create a new bridge over Fairmount Street, replacing the existing structure that carries vehicles over the railroad tracks. A section of the existing sewer interceptor will also be replaced, and workers will build new retaining walls, a closed drainage system and a retention pond and underground infiltration system.

According to the Nashua Telegraph, a cost estimate created by the city’s design consultant, engineering firm Fay, Spofford & Thorndike, pegged the price tag at $16.8 million. Bids came in far lower, allowing the city to shave a projected $3 million off the cost.

Broad Street Parkway Project Manager John Vancor told the Telegraph that combining the two projects into one contract contributed to the savings. The city also benefited from a favorable bid climate, he said.

The contract calls for work on the Nashua River bridge to be completed by May 1, 2015. Work on the Fairmount Street Bridge is expected to continue until November of that year.