MARSHALL — Rising costs have brought a change in plans for resurfacing Channel Parkway in Marshall. After bids to pave the parkway in concrete came in over half a million dollars higher than an engineer’s estimate, Marshall City Council members voted to reject the bids. Instead, the city will be redesigning the project into a mill and overlay.

“It’s just grown to be a higher cost than what we were anticipating,” said Marshall Public Works Director Jason Anderson. “Staff would propose to work a different surface treatment project in, and try to get that bid yet this winter.”

Last year, the city received $1.25 million in Local Road Improvement Program grant funding from the Minnesota Department of Transportation to help upgrade Channel Parkway to concrete. At the time, city staff said switching to concrete would help the parkway stand up to heavy truck traffic.

The cost of resurfacing Channel Parkway in concrete was estimated at $3.1 million, Anderson said. However, when bids for the project were opened on Oct. 20, they came in above that estimate.

The city received four bids for the Channel Parkway project. The apparent low bidder was Hulstein Excavating of Edgerton, with a bid of about $3.79 million.

“I think the bids that we received were good bids. I think the $3.8 million bid is a good bid, there’s just been cost changes that have happened in the past couple years,” Anderson said. “I think costs have steadily been on the rise.”

Anderson said it would still be possible to do an asphalt mill and overlay on Channel Parkway using the state grant funding.

“We’ve met and discussed with the LRIP grant folks at the state, and this redesign would not jeopardize our grant funds,” he said.

Anderson said the proposed asphalt resurfacing would affect 2.5 to 3 inches of asphalt on Channel Parkway. There will be some minor concrete work involved in the project for the median of the parkway, but for the most part it would be a mill and overlay project, he said.

“Once we get that designed and ready to go and approved through the state, we’ll bring that back to seek authorization to advertise for bids from the city council,” Anderson said. More details on the resurfacing project would be available to at that time. “Right now, we’re thinking about a two-and-a-half to three-inch mill and overlay.”

The mill and overlay should last for about 15 to 20 years, he said.

Council members voted to reject the Channel Parkway bids and move forward with a redesign of the project.