Lake County Seeks Bids for Aggregate Stockpile Production at Three Pit Sites

The price of gravel will help set Lake County's road-repair budget for the next year. On April 16 at 1:00 p.m., bids close for aggregate stockpile production at three county pit sites, a contract whose outcome will ripple through virtually every pavement project the Highway Department has planned between late May and next June.

The Lake County Highway Department posted the solicitation on April 1 under Project CSP 025-001-000, designating three production locations: Cramer Pit, Swanstrom's Pit, and Birdshot Pit. The multi-site approach spreads supply risk across different sources, a hedge against shortfalls that could leave paving crews idled mid-season.

The contract timeline runs tight against the county's broader construction calendar. Work must begin by May 26, reach an interim milestone by August 29, and wrap to final completion by June 5, 2027. That start date lands squarely alongside several other Lake County projects already scheduled to resume in May, including Banks Boulevard reconstruction in Silver Bay and 6th Avenue improvements in Two Harbors. Aggregate stockpiles need to be in place before those crews can roll.

Contractors have until 1:00 p.m. on April 16 to submit bids electronically through the Bid Express platform. Bids will be opened and read publicly shortly after that deadline by the Clerk of the County Board at the Lake County Service Center, 616 3rd Avenue in Two Harbors. The opening is accessible in person or by videoconference, with links available to registered plan holders.

The bid package carries standard financial controls: each submission must be accompanied by a corporate surety bond equal to at least 5 percent of the total bid amount. Hard copies of proposal guaranties must arrive at the Highway Department in a sealed envelope no later than 3:00 p.m. on April 15, the day before opening. The county will not accept bid questions by phone or email; all inquiries must go through Bid Express.

The solicitation also includes federal civil rights language under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, with explicit provisions for disadvantaged business enterprises, signaling the project draws on state or federal funding subject to additional compliance requirements.

If bids come in too high or too few contractors respond, the county faces a narrowing window. Delaying the May 26 start pushes aggregate stockpiling into the heart of summer, compressing production toward the August 29 interim deadline and putting downstream paving contracts on a collision course with the first hard freeze. Contractors and plan holders can obtain bid documents and register at bidexpress.com.