The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1920-05-17

Financing Assured
The financing OF the bridge is as
sured. 1t is possible that the final
cost, which now appears to be about
$1,00O,000 will be decreased consider.
ably. Burleigh and Morton counties,
the state and the federal government
already have appropriated sufficient
funds to assure that lack of money
will not interfere with the completion
of the bridge.
Bids submitted by nine of the larg-
est bridge and steel companies of the
country were opened on Friday at
Mandan and Bismarck. On Saturday,
the highway commission and the COM
missioners, together with C. A. P.
Turner. Of Minneapolis, designer of
the bridge, and C. A. Charles and o.
A. Ostrander, representatives of the
federal government, and highway COM
mission engineers, considered the
plans.
Special Committee, Named
A special committee consisting of
Frayne Baker, member Of the state
highway commission; G. P. O'Rourke,
Of Morton county; Messrs. Turner.
Charles and Ostrander ana w. H. Ro-
binson, chief engineer of the highway
commission, was named to go over
the tabulated figures on the bridge
bids.
The committee worked all afternoon
and Saturday evening. The highway
commission met and adopted resolu-
tions for the letting of the bids for
he piers and the concrete approaches.
The committee decided not to con-
slider the bids on alternate plans, sub
mitted by several companies. The
original plans were approved by gov
ernment engineers in Washington be-
fore the government annouced that
money would be given to aid the pro-
ject. The plans were in Washington
seven months and the committee held
that if other plans were adopted there
would be delay of several months
while new approval could be obtain
I'd from Washington.
Award to Low Bidder
when we considered the bids, it
Bridge company submitted lower bid
than the Foundation company" said
Frayne Baker, today. But examina
ton showed that things were includ
ed in the Foundation companys bid
which were not included in the other
bid, and that, item for item, the Foun-
3dation companys bid was the lower
The Foundation company, bidding
on the sliding scale, cost plus system
on which the bridge is to be built, es.
timated the cost of the concrete ap-
proaches at $256,319. The basic fee
on which this bid was submitted was
fixed at $39,500, which might be in
creased to maximum of $4S, 100 in
ratio to the reduction of the actual
cost, or decreased to minimum OF
10000 if the final cost is higher than
estimated.
The company estimated the cost Of
building the piers at $295,S19.00. The
company submitted another bid, with
it's own plans for building the piers.
in which the cost was estimated at
S256,4S1.00. ~
Estimated Cost s675,000
The commission has yet to agree
who shall furnish the steel and erect
the superstructure. In the lowest pos
sible combination of bids, tabulated by
highway commission engineers, the
American Bridge Company estimated
cost of the steel at $319,017.O0 and
the Midland Bridge company estimat-
ed the cost of erection at $137, 500.
The total cost under the lowest pos
sible combination presented on ap-
proved plans amounted to $1,023,251.-
co. In this combination first arrived
at, the Midland company's bid for
building the approaches was included
instead of that of the Foundation COM
pany.
The original estimate of the cost Of
building the bridge was $4,000.
Nothing Gained BY Delay
when this estimate was made,
steel was selling on a basis of 2A
cents a pound and now it is Az
cents" said Mr.. Baker. THE opinion
of men who are in a position to know,
which was presented to us, was that
the cost of steel will not decrease,
and nothing would be gained by de-
laying the bridge.
There is now available SS76,0OO for
the building of the bridge. The esti-
mated cost, as included in the bids.
doubtless will be decreased, for the
Continued on Page Seven)