The Icelandic Road Administration (Vegagerðin) has rejected the two lowest bids submitted for one of the largest tenders of the year — the construction of two concrete bridges on the Westfjords Road (Vestfjarðavegur) through Gufudalssveit.
Instead, Vegagerðin has decided to enter into negotiations with a Norwegian contractor that submitted the third lowest bid. This decision has been appealed to the Public Procurement Complaints Commission.
The rejected bids were submitted by the VBF Mjölnir ehf. in Selfoss, which offered the lowest bid at ISK 1,626 million, and Sjótækni in Reykjavík, which bid ISK 1,705 million.
“The two lowest bids have been rejected as they did not meet the requirements. The plan is to negotiate with the third lowest bidder, Leonhard Nilsen & Sønner,” said G. Pétur Matthíasson, Head of Communications at Vegagerðin, in a statement to the news desk.
Leonhard Nilsen & Sønner offered to carry out the project for ISK 1,852 million, which is 14 percent — or ISK 226 million — higher than the lowest bid.
“The lowest bidder has appealed the decision to the Public Procurement Complaints Commission, and that process is now underway. It is not yet clear when a ruling will be made and therefore when a contract can be signed,” G. Pétur added.
The project includes the construction of a 58-meter-long bridge over Djúpafjörður near Grónes and a 130-meter-long bridge over Gufufjörður. The work also involves dismantling the existing 119-meter temporary bridge over Gufufjörður, transporting materials from current work sites, and building rock armor and erosion protection.
This marks the penultimate phase of what has been one of the most controversial road projects in Iceland, commonly referred to as the Teigsskóg Road. The bridge over Þorskafjörður has already been completed, as well as the main road through Teigsskóg. Connecting roads to the farms in Gufudalur and Djúpidalur have also been finished; these serve temporarily as part of the Westfjords Road.
However, the final tender for the reconstruction of the Westfjords Road through Gufudalssveit remains. This last phase is the construction of a 250-meter-long steel arch bridge over Djúpafjörður. The bridge will be similar in style to the bridge over Mjóafjörður in the Westfjords and the new Eldvatnsbrú bridge in Skaftárhreppur. It will be fabricated off-site and assembled on location.
“The plan is to put the steel arch bridge out to tender in the early winter of 2025,” said G. Pétur.
Once completed, the entire project will shorten the Westfjords Road by 22 kilometers and create an uninterrupted paved route between Patreksfjörður and Reykjavík. Additionally, the route will be moved off two mountain passes, Hjallaháls and Ódrjúgsháls, and will instead run entirely along lowland terrain through Gufudalssveit.
Source: Visir.is
