§ 24-1-132 — Contracts for county, city and town bridge work; bids; exception

Wyoming § 24-1-132

• Jurisdiction: Wyoming
• Title 24: Highways
• Ch. 1: GENERAL PROVISIONS

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(a) The board of county commissioners of any county or
governing body of any city or town shall cause to be prepared
comprehensive plans and specifications for the construction of
any bridge on any dedicated and maintained road in its
jurisdiction.
(b) As used in this section a bridge is a structure,
including supports, erected over a depression or an obstruction,
such as water, highway or railway, having a track or passageway
for carrying traffic or other moving loads and having an opening
measured along the center of the roadway of more than twenty
(20) feet between undercopings of abutments, or spring lines of
arches, or extreme ends of openings for multiple barrel box
culverts. It may include multiple pipes, where the clear
distance between openings is less than one-half (1/2) of the
smaller contiguous opening.
(c) When any bridge is to be constructed, which includes
either new construction or reconstruction of major load carrying
bridge components, upon any road in a county's, city's or town's
jurisdiction, the estimated cost of which shall exceed
twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00), the construction work
shall be competitively bid and the bridge work constructed by
contract. No contract shall be divided for the purpose of
avoiding competitive bidding. The construction work may be
described in the published call for bids by stating general
requirements. Detailed specifications shall be available to
prospective bidders at the county commissioner's office or
offices of the governing body of the city or town.
(d) All bridges to be constructed shall be designed by a
professional engineer who holds a valid license granted by the
Wyoming board of professional engineers and professional land
surveyors.
(e) The board of county commissioners of any county or
governing body of any city or town shall cause notices of the
contract to be let to be published for two (2) consecutive weeks
in a newspaper having general circulation within the state and
to take any other means available to achieve as wide a notice as
possible, but in no case shall any letting of the contract be
held within fifteen (15) days of the last published notice.
(f) The board of county commissioners, or governing body
of the city or town shall award any contract to the lowest
responsible bidder. The county commissioners or governing body
reserves the right to reject any bid and to waive irregularities
and informalities in the bidding. No final payment upon any
contract shall be made until the bridge is examined and approved
by the professional engineer supervising the construction of the
bridge and the payment is approved by the county commissioners
or governing body of the city or town or their designees. Within
ninety (90) days of the bridge being opened to traffic the board
of county commissioners or governing body of the city or town
shall notify and provide the design, plans, specifications and
load rating for the bridge to the chief engineer of the
department of transportation so that the department may comply
with national bridge inspection standards.
(g) Whenever an emergency arises requiring expenditure of
funds for the repair or rebuilding of bridges or approaches to
bridges the board of county commissioners or governing body of
any city or town may enter into contract for any building or
rebuilding of bridges or approaches without advertising for the
letting of any contract. An emergency is an occasion requiring
repair or rebuilding of a bridge or a portion of a bridge when,
on short notice, the bridge has become unsafe or impassable due
to events which are beyond the control of the county, city or
town.