BUILDERS' ROAD BIDS MEET CITY BUDGET 7 CONTRACTORS COMPETING FOR GOLDEN VALLEY PROJECT.

Byline: Angela M. Lemire Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - Bids from seven contractors seeking to build the first phase of Golden Valley Road indicate the massive grading project will fall in line with the city's $21 million estimate.

City engineers opened seven bid packages Tuesday and found a range of $15.9 million to $19.9 million for the highway, Santa Clarita engineer Robert Newman said. Added to design and administration fees, he said, the low-range bids would remain within the city's budget.

``They're reasonable. They're what we expected,'' Newman said Tuesday. Of the bid turnout, he added, ``We were happy with (seven). We had 12 (companies) at the pre-bid meeting, so we expected somewhere in that range.''

Santa Ana-based Sukut Construction submitted the low bid of $15.9 million, while A.C.I. of Corona submitted the highest price of $19.9 million.

The seven companies that submitted bids were: Sukut; CA Rasmussen Inc. of Santa Clarita; Nelson & Belding of Gardena; A.C.I.; E.L. Yeager of Riverside; Ford Construction of Lodi; and Kiewit Pacific of Vancouver, Wash.

Although Newhall-based CA Rasmussen is the only Santa Clarita contractor, most bidders have performed work locally, Newman said.

CA Rasmussen already has ties to the development of Golden Valley Road.

Developer Larry Rasmussen, under Spirit Properties Limited, plans to build a 200-acre Santa Clarita Business Park off Golden Valley Road for roughly 80 businesses. Spirit has assumed responsibility for funding Phases Two and Three, through bridge and thoroughfare fees and a special taxation district to pay off $33 million in bonded debt.

City officials had eyed late January as the start-up date to begin Phase One construction for the Golden Valley Road project, which would extend its unfinished segment in Saugus over two miles through Friendly Valley to intersect Sierra Highway to the south.

But the bid period, initially scheduled from Nov. 11 to Dec. 29, was extended until Jan. 11 to give potential bidders ample time to prepare proposals to meet new specifications added to the official request for proposal, city officials said. Bidders who attended a pre-bid conference in December requested the clarifications, they said.

The city is working with the William S. Hart Union High School District and Santa Clarita Facilities Foundation to grade the school pad and Phase One, the road's most southern segment, because school officials plan to build Golden Valley High School there. The state Department of Toxic Substance Control continues to study the school site to determine whether the land is safe. The high school has been slated for a September 2001 opening.

The next step is for city engineers to analyze the seven bids to ensure they meet all specifications, Newman said. The staff will submit the low bidder to the Facilities Foundation, Hart district and City Council for approvals, he said.

The City Council is expected to award the grading and construction contract for Golden Valley Road at its Jan. 25 meeting, pushing the construction start-up date to February, city officials said.