PORT ANGELES — Clallam County has awarded a bid to a Port Angeles contractor to bridge a 2.15-mile gap in the Olympic Discovery Trail.
Jordan Excavating Inc. of Port Angeles will build a West End trail section that will link six miles of existing trail in the Sol Duc Valley to 8.5 miles of completed trail west of Lake Crescent.
County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to award a $757,233 bid to Jordan Excavating.
Board Chairman Mike Chapman noted that the offer was about $150,000 less than the $913,798 engineer’s estimate.
“That’s a tremendous savings,” Chapman said.
Another Port Angeles contractor, Bruch & Bruch Construction, submitted the second-lowest bid at $933,520.
Other offers came from Sealevel Bulkhead Builders of Kingston ($995,050) and Interwest Construction of Burlington ($1.32 million).
“I just thought I’d point that out, give a shout out to local contractors again working hard on behalf of the county taxpayer to provide services,” Chapman said at the meeting.
“Thank you to both of them for putting in very good bids. Too bad we can’t award both of them a contract.”
The new trail section will be built later this year, county Transportation Program Manager Rich James has said.
Meanwhile, county transportation officials are working with the National Park Service to reconstruct the Spruce Railroad Trail on the north shore of Lake Crescent.
The 3.5-mile waterfront trail is being paved and widened — and two historic railroad tunnels are being restored — to be incorporated into the Olympic Discovery Trail.
The non-motorized, Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant Olympic Discovery Trail will eventually span the entire North Olympic Peninsula from Port Townsend to La Push.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.