craigdailypress.com

Craig — The city seems to have caught a break, and officials would like to seize the opportunity.

A recent bid for 2008 road projects came in $224,000 under budget, and City Engineer Bill Earley said he would like to see the saved money spent on pavement for other problem areas around Craig.

The city expected to pay more for asphalt this year, and ended up with $690,000 in the budget for road overlays, half of which was provided by the Colorado Department of Local Affairs through an energy impact grant.

Elam Construction submitted the low bid and charged $466,062 for work and about 5,000 tons of asphalt to put a two-inch overlay on part of First Street and pave the parking lot north of the Golden Cavvy on Yampa Avenue.

"I don't think we're ever going to get a better price," Earley told the Craig City Council at its Tuesday meeting. With fuel prices affecting everything else in the economy, and the nature of inflation, he said, this might be a chance for a break.

A memo he circulated to the Council showed that asphalt prices have markedly increased since 2001. From then to 2007, asphalt went from $44.75 a ton to $78.50 a ton.

This year's bid from Elam Construction came in at $70.25 a ton.

A company representative said the price decrease came because the city had such a big order compared to previous years.

Expanding the scope of the city's roadwork, however, is not easy.

Half of the city's $690,000 allocated for road overlays is DOLA money, and those dollars come with rules.

City officials are discussing the project with DOLA representatives, Earley said. City Manager Jim Ferree could not be reached to say whether talks had begun or whether there was any word from DOLA.

"If we don't spend it, we'll have to give some grant money back, and I don't want to do that," Earley said. "We'll look at what we can do and can't do, if it makes sense for the city. I don't want to waste money, either."

Earley said city staff are looking at streets around the city that may need repairs or overlays.

Other possibilities include expanding the First Street project, which is limited to the road between Ranney Street and Colorado Highway 13.

DOLA may require all the money to go toward First Street, Earley said, because that was the roadway cited in the grant application.

In any event, the city is looking for opportunities.

"A quarter of a million dollars can do a lot of work," Earley said.