DeLAND, Fla. — The Florida Department of Transportation has received four bids — all below its $44 million estimate — for the planned 12-mile extension of commuter railroad SunRail, but a bid protest by one of the contractors is delaying the award process.
The West Volusia Beacon reports the four bids range from $32.9 million to $37.9 million to build the extension from current northern endpoint DeBary, Fla., to DeLand. But those bids, opened in late 2021, may not hold as inflation drives material costs upward. SunRail Chief Operating Officer Charles Heffinger told the Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission, which oversees SunRail, that “steel is about three to five times the price it was last year.”
But a Florida DOT spokeswoman told the newspaper the contract has not yet been awarded because of a bid protest. As a result, groundbreaking for the extension, which had been expected this month, will likely be delayed. The impact on the projected completion date of late 2023 or early 2024 has not been determined.
The contractors made bids, if the contracts are done properly it doesn’t matter if steel prices are 3 or 5 times what they were at bid time…that would then be on the contractors for not factoring in some slush for additional costs, but when have we ever known a government agency to sign a proper contract.
A SunRail extension to a town that voted not to provide any funding or support.
Before I’m corrected, the Meadow Woods Sta. Gee, this isn’t N. Jersey!
I live in Volusia Co. and all for Deland extension.
BUT, SunRail needs to connect to MCO (Orlando International);
the plan that I’ve heard is a line from the Meadowlands Sta. to the Brightline airport station. No idea what progress is being made of this important extension. That line could also be used for the Brightline extension toward Tampa. If someone has more info, that would be great.
The train in the picture in most likely not stopped there. The Sunrail platforms are behind the photographer. In fact, if a Sunrail passenger stood at the location shown in the picture, the Amtrak employees might actually throw them out!
Isn’t it on the wrong track as well?
The Sunrail platforms are over the photographer’s left shoulder, further north but contiguous with the Amtrak platforms. The train in the picture is slowing to a stop on track 1. The track closer to the camera is track 2. Out of the picture to the the right of the photographer is track 3. When Amtrak is stopped on track one, Sunrail uses tracks two and three. Otherwise, which is most of the time, Sunrail uses tracks 1 and 2.