BALTIMORE — State leaders officially chose today the company that will design and build a replacement for the Key Bridge.
Kiewit Infrastructure Co. was approved as the new contractor, during a meeting of the Maryland Transportation Authority board.
The company, which is based in Omaha, Neb., and has a Columbia location, offered a total estimated price of $1.23 billion for the project.
That's the highest of the three accepted bidders. But, transportation leaders say they're prioritizing technical expertise over price - and Kiewit was ranked highest of the three bidders in the technical department.
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MDTA only approved a $73 million contract so far, which is for the first phase of the project.
MDTA Chief Engineer Jim Harkness told the board:
We were not looking at pricing as much as we were consideration of the qualifications of the proposers.
The design phase is expected to take about a year to complete.
A new bridge is projected to open in the fall of 2028.
Kiewit will work with the transportation department on the design (Phase 1) and the actual building process (Phase 2).
The contract has MDTA partnering with the builder, in order to mitigate risk, streamline the design process, and improve the decision-making process.
RELATED: Plan, timeline for rebuilding the Key Bridge
Harkness said the state looked at the bidders' key staff members, what they've done in the past, their previous performance on projects of similar size and importance, their proposed project approach, how they handle permits, and how they mitigate risk, among other factors.
Kiewit has built numerous bridges throughout North America, and helped design and build the major - and highly controversial - InterCounty Connector highway between Montgomery and Prince George's counties.
They were also behind other major local transportation projects like modernizing DC Metro stations and renovating the Arlington Memorial Bridge.
Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld publicly thanked Harkness for his effort "dealing with unified command" of the project's logistics.
"You've done a fantastic job under unbelievable circumstances," Wiedefeld said.
More information about the state's project is at KeyBridgeRebuild.com .
