The Indianola City Council approved the first consideration of the contract for the South K Street Project at their meeting Monday, with the bid coming in significantly lower than the engineer’s estimate. The estimate for the project totaled just over $2.6 million, with the bid awarded to Vanderpool Construction for $1.77 million, approximately $800,000 lower than the estimate. City Manager Ben Reeves tells KNIA News the low bid means good news for those who were assessed for the project, as the lower the cost, the lower the assessment.

“It benefits the city because we have funds that we can use on other road maintenance or other road projects throughout the city. That’s exciting to see that move forward. But it’s also really good for the residents. As you know, South K Street was partly assessed to the residents out there, and the more that we can bring that in under budget, the less the assessment will be for them.”

The construction of the project is now taking place in just one season rather than the two that were initially planned, and is expected to take place over the course of the summer.