DeLAND, Fla. — The Florida Department of Transportation has received four bids — all below its $44 million estimate — for the planned 12-mile extension of commuter railroad SunRail, but a bid protest by one of the contractors is delaying the award process.
The West Volusia Beacon reports the four bids range from $32.9 million to $37.9 million to build the extension from current northern endpoint DeBary, Fla., to DeLand. But those bids, opened in late 2021, may not hold as inflation drives material costs upward. SunRail Chief Operating Officer Charles Heffinger told the Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission, which oversees SunRail, that “steel is about three to five times the price it was last year.”
But a Florida DOT spokeswoman told the newspaper the contract has not yet been awarded because of a bid protest. As a result, groundbreaking for the extension, which had been expected this month, will likely be delayed. The impact on the projected completion date of late 2023 or early 2024 has not been determined.
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