Highway 26 project in Colleyville hits roadblock after bid almost doubles its cost

Colleyville’s project to beautify the portion of Texas State Highway 26 that goes through the city hit a roadblock last week.

Council members voted to reject the bid for building tower elements, signs and stone walls because it was much higher than the estimated cost.

During the April 6 meeting, Mayor Richard Newton said the bid was out of line.

“It (the bid) didn’t meet expectations. It’s unacceptable,” he said during the council meeting.

The council voted unanimously to reject the Gateways bid from the Fain Group.

Assistant City Manager Mark Wood said officials will “regroup” and meet with the consultant, Mesa Landscape Design, to get specific details on why the $11,410,971 bid was so much higher than the $6,560,493 estimated cost.

The project to beautify Colleyville Boulevard, which is also the city’s main commercial corridor, is divided into three phases. The first phase included building custom decorative light polls and was finished in December 2020, Wood said.

Currently, the landscaping, which includes planting large trees inside the medians, is underway and should be finished this summer.

Construction was also supposed to begin on the Gateways portion this summer. The project involves building “gateways” or entry points into Colleyville: Pastoral Gateway (SH26 and John McCain Road); Main Street Gateway (SH26 and Main Street), and Creekside Gateway (SH26 at Little Bear Creek) .

Some of the features are tower elements, Colleyville identity signs and a native meadow, according to Colleyville’s web site.

“We are definitely not going back to square one,” Wood said. ”We spent a lot of time and energy designing this. We will look at tweaks to rebid the project.”

The beautification funding is from the tax increment finance district.