Airport demolition bids come in way under budget

Taking down the old passenger terminal at Indianapolis International Airport could cost half as much as anticipated.

The Indianapolis Airport Authority had budgeted $11.3 million, but the total project cost, including a 17-percent contingency for unforeseen problems, would be $5.7 million, according to an airport staff memo about bids received early this year.

The airport authority board voted Friday to approve all but one of the recommended contracts. Veit USA of Rogers, Minn., was the low bidder for the main demolition contract, with a bid of about $4 million. That would cover all buildings and slabs, as well as basements under the former “C” and “D” concourses, according to an airport authority memo.

The airport received 13 bids ranging from $3.5 million to $9.7 million on the demolition contract. The initial lowest bid was thrown out because of the bidder's math error.

The board delayed its vote on a $411,660 construction-management contract for Harmon Construction of North Vernon after airport staff realized that Harmon’s asbestos-management subcontractor, Shrewsberry & Associates of Indianapolis, is already working on design aspects of the project. A single firm is not allowed to work under two separate contracts, airport spokesman Carlo Bertolini said.

The airport will revise the scope of Harmon’s contract and place asbestos management under the engineering contract, where Shrewsberry is already a subcontractor, Bertolini said. The board will vote on both changes in April, and there will be no change in the project timeline or cost, he said.

The board also approved a $102,500 extension to Columbus-based DLZ Indiana LLC’s construction-phase engineering contract.

The airport initially planned to take down the old terminal over three years, but the staff last December recommended speeding up the schedule to make the site more marketable. The old terminal was abandoned after the new terminal opened in 2008. Parts of the old terminal date to the 1930s.

The demolition is expected to be finished by the end of the year.