Award of five contracts totaling $878,597 for road and bridge construction on three Indian reservations in South Dakota was announced today by the Department of the Interior.
The contracts are for road and bridge construction work on the Standing Rock, Cheyenne River, and Pine Ridge Indian Reservations.
The largest contract--for $341,076-·-was awarded to Rand Construction Company, Inc., Rapid City, South Dakota for grading, draining, crushed gravel surfacing, and construction of one bridge on 19.2 miles of Cheyenne River Reservation Road Route No, 8 extending easterly and northeasterly from State Highway 63. The project will provide an all-weather road to serve Indian farms and ranches. Nine other bids ranging to $389,372 were received for construction of this project.
Another road contract was awarded to Hall Construction Company Westport, South Dakota on a bid of $49,886, the lowest of six bids received ranging to a high of $62,237.
This contract covers grading) draining, and surfacing of 6.2 miles of road in the eastern section of the Cheyenne River Reservation which will serve as an access road to the main reservation road extending from U, S. Highway 212 to Promise.
A third contract on the Cheyenne River Reservation is for grading, draining, crushed gravel surfacing, and construction of one bridge on 9.5 miles of road extending easterly from State Highway 63 on the north side of the Moreau River Valley. It will complete construction of an all-weather road from Whitehorse west to State Highway 63 near Greengrass and serve farm and ranch homes in the Moreau River Valley for school bus transportation and farm-to-market travel, and will further the development of Indian ranching enterprises in that section of the reservation. Dewey County has agreed to accept maintenance responsibility for this road upon completion of its improvement as covered by this contract. Eleven bids were received ranging from $177,391 to $215,639. The successful bidder was the Rand firm of Rapid City, which also won the Standing Rock Reservation contract for grading, draining, crushed gravel surfacing, and construction of three bridges on 11.1 miles of road from U. S. Highway 12 through Mahto to a road junction near Wakpala. The winning bid of $184,586 was the lowest of six bids received ranging to a high of $209,813. The road serving the Mahto and Wakpala communities will be improved to provide for all-weather school bus and farm to market travel needs. The local government has agreed to take over the road upon completion of its improvement and assume maintenance responsibility.
A $125,656 contract for grading and draining of 8.2 miles of road running southeasterly from Kyle towards Allen on the Pine Ridge Reservation was awarded to R. S. Krage Company, Sioux City, Iowa. Eight other bids were received for this project ranging to a high of $174,416. The project will provide road improvement needed for farm-to-market travel and school bus transportation for more than 60 Indian children. The contract provides for improvement of the first section of the main reservation road route between the Kyle and Allen communities.
The road contracts are not located in areas applicable for small business preference to the successful bidder nor are they located in areas designated for distressed or labor area preference. All bidders on the work under these contracts qualify as small businesses.
