Army asks contractors for advice on airport project

Higher costs for cement, asphalt, copper and other construction materials mean the Army of Corps of Engineers can't afford to do everything it wants at an airfield north of Reno.

So it's trying a new approach: It's asking contractors for their thoughts about the best way to begin work on the field at Sierra Army Depot, just across the state line in California.

The Corps of Engineers hopes some of the proposals for the $12 million job come from contractors in northern Nevada.

When the job extension of a 7,300-foot strip to a 10,000-foot runway that can handle jet aircraft first went to bid last summer, contractors submitted prices that were $4 million or more higher than budgeted.

Most of the problem came from higher materials costs, says Paul Feldman, a Sacramento-based senior project manager for the Corps of Engineers.

The project, for instance, will require some 40,000 cubic yards of concrete a commodity whose price has risen sharply. Ditto for the asphalt to be used on part of the runway. Ditto for the copper wiring for its extensive lighting system.

Under pressure by his superiors in Sacramento and Washington to get the job done, Feldman took a two-pronged approach.

First, he looked for ways to reduce the potential costs of the project.

He found, for instance, a couple of potential quarry sites on Sierra Army Depot property one of them three miles from the runway, another 4.5 miles away that might reduce the costs of hauling aggregate.

The Corps of Engineers worked, meanwhile, with security officials at the base to find ways to speed contractors' access to the job site.

The Army wants tight security of the base, which handles disposal of munitions. But security checks are expensive for builders.

"You can't let a truckload of hot asphalt cool while you're waiting at the game," Feldman says.

The second part of Feldman's strategy to get the airfield built is this: Ask contractors what they think they can get done with the money the Army has available.

The Corps of Engineers defined the basic work it wants to complete, work that Feldman estimates at $10 million to $11 million. Then the Army asks contractors to pick from a list of other options to bring the total cost of the work to $12 million, with the understanding that some of the job will delayed until Congress allocates more money.

"Since we can't get it all today, we'll have to get some of it today and some tomorrow," Feldman says. "We've asked contractors to tell us the best way to spend that $12 million."

Proposals will be opened August 24, and the job will be awarded about a week later.

Unlike traditional bidding, the airport job will be awarded on the basis of best value rather than price alone, Feldman says. Among the factors to be weighed are the airport- and quarry-related experience of companies and their key personnel, he says.

Even though the base is scheduled for closure, Lassen County officials believe the refurbished airfield could serve as a centerpiece for private-sector industrial development.