Kentucky Transportation Secretary Jim Gray discussing* single-bid contracts in front of the Interim Appropriations and Revenue Committee last week:

“To get through (this inflationary period) the Transportation Cabinet will do what Kentucky families…are doing all over the Commonwealth. We will adjust and adapt…Yes inflation is affecting the Cabinet’s operations and, especially, the Department of Highways…At the Cabinet, the Division of Construction Procurement sets the official engineer’s estimate for individual projects in Kentucky…What the procurement department does is try to estimate a fair and reasonable price for projects…For example on March 24th we let a major project on US 127…the Cabinet received at that time just a single-bid…Our awards committee declined that (bid) because it was 17% over the engineer’s estimate…We rebid the project in June, it was still over the enginneer’s estimate but the estimate was adjusted based on the inflationary pressures we’re experiencing today and we got two bids…When I talk about efficiency I’m talking about we are working to ensure more than a single bid.

“Another example, a rehab project in Christian County was let on April 28th. In that case, there was one-bid only. It was 17% above the engineer’s estimate. Ordinarily, that bid might have been rejected and re-let. But remember we are also dealing with the dynamic of needing public safety…the judgement was to accept the bid and award the project.”

3 Questions for Secretary Gray:

1. Why has it taken extraordinary circumstances - i.e. inflationary pressures - for the Cabinet to work to ensure there is more than a single-bidder for transportation projects?

2. What details can you share regarding how ⁦KYTC is working to ensure there is more than one-bidder for asphalt resurfacing projects in Kentucky?

3. The Lexington-region of the state is an area you know well. Is there an examination underway about the lack of competition for asphalt-related projects in Clark, Fayette, Bourbon, Scott, Madison and Jessamine counties and does industry consolidation play a role in suppressing competition in those counties?

Please feel free to send answers to amcneill@freedomkentucky.com.

We’ll be happy to share them with Kentucky taxpayers via the BIPPS blog.

— — — — —

*begins at minute 29:20.