Silver Bay seeks bids for major street and utility reconstruction project

Silver Bay has moved its next major street-and-utility overhaul from planning to bidding, setting up another round of construction that will touch neighborhood access, buried infrastructure and the city’s long-term maintenance bill. Proposals for Phase 1 of the citywide street and utility reconstruction are being accepted online until 10 a.m. April 22, with bids to be opened publicly through Microsoft Teams shortly after the deadline.

The phase now out for bids centers on Adams Boulevard north of Banks Boulevard and Arthur Circle, following a public hearing March 9 at the Silver Bay Reunion Hall on Improvement No. 2026-01A, described as 2026 Citywide Street & Utility Improvements, Phase I-A. The city said the work will replace surfacing and utilities, the kind of project that can bring road closures, utility interruptions and slower travel through the affected blocks while crews dig below the pavement.

Silver Bay’s recent construction history shows what that can mean on the ground. Lake County’s highway construction page lists the Banks Boulevard and Edison Boulevard reconstruction project in Silver Bay, with Banks Boulevard construction suspended for winter and scheduled to resume in May 2026, while the Edison Boulevard portion is marked complete. That earlier job included sanitary sewer, water distribution, storm sewer, curb, pavement and sidewalks, and it forced traffic restrictions during construction, including a short closure of Davis Drive at Banks Boulevard. The city’s utility department says its drinking water comes from Lake Superior and is treated as a surface water system, so utility replacement affects more than the street surface alone.

The latest phase has funding behind it, too. In March, the Silver Bay City Council approved an IRRRB grant agreement for Phase 1 Citywide Street & Utility work worth $3 million in fiscal year 2026, and the council later set a special meeting for March 31 to approve Resolution 2026-#27 and order advertisement for bids for Improvement No. 2026-01A. The broader street program has been described as a 10-year, phased rebuild, alongside upgrades at the city’s water treatment facility, including a booster station, as Silver Bay continues modernizing infrastructure for a city of just under 1,900 residents.

The bidding terms underline the scale of the job. Plans and specifications are available digitally through QuestCDN or Bolton & Menk for a $50 download fee, and bidders must submit electronically, be on the plan holders list and include a proposal bond of at least 5 percent of the bid. The work is subject to prevailing wage rates, equal employment opportunity provisions and Buy American Build America requirements. All work under the contract must be finished by Sept. 1, 2028, a deadline that points to a project measured in years, not a quick patch job, as Silver Bay presses ahead with one of its biggest infrastructure rebuilds.