Federal agency answers a bidder's question on Far North Bicentennial Park bridge job

The Federal Highway Administration posted a bidder question-and-answer document Tuesday, Nov. 3, for its invitation for bids to replace the North Gasline Trail bridge over Campbell Creek in Far North Bicentennial Park. The agency sought those bids Oct. 30, after a pre-solicitation notice Sept. 16.

The update added only the Q&A, which holds one question: whether a plan holders list shows which prime contractors are looking at the job. The answer says qualified SAM.gov users can view the Interested Vendor List, but the government keeps no separate plan holders list.

Printed bids are due at the agency's Western Federal Lands Highway Division in Vancouver, Washington, by 2 pm Pacific time Dec. 1.

The solicitation estimates the job at $700,000 to $2 million and says any award depends on available funding. Base work, due Aug. 10, 2027, includes an 80-foot prefabricated steel bridge, a 61-foot boardwalk, trail aggregate and turf. An optional 51-foot boardwalk would extend completion to Sept. 1, 2027. Salvaged parts of the old bridge go to the Municipality of Anchorage.

The project plans mark three trail closure areas, north and south of the Tank Trail intersection. Dogs must be leashed near them during construction in what the plans label an off-leash corridor. The contractor must post closure maps at the Klutina, North Bivouac and Basher Drive trailheads and where the Bulldog and Tank trails meet.

The draft statewide transportation plan lists $2 million for the project in 2026 through the Federal Lands Access Program, which pays for transportation facilities that reach federal lands. It names the federal land as the Bureau of Land Management's Campbell Tract, next to the park.