The Marshalltown city council received welcome news during a brief meeting on Monday night as the low bid for the 2026 Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) street repair project came in $650,000 below the original engineer’s estimate, and it received swift approval.

The low bid of $1,766,983.90 from Manatt’s Inc., which includes all four alternates discussed during the previous meeting, means a total of 18 road sections will receive repairs yet this year, and Public Works Director Heather Thomas said the city received a total of three bids.

“We are hoping to get this project underway relatively quickly. We have scheduled a preconstruction meeting for this Thursday, and we will also be looking at, through a change order, adding some additional streets based on the bid prices,” she said.

Councilor Greg Nichols commended Thomas and her team for their work on the project.

“It’s exciting to see us get to move forward on getting to work on our streets. You’ve got a good list here. You’ve done a lot of work to make sure that they’re vetted properly, the PCI study that went into that, that you worked through, all those things show that we are moving forward getting streets (fixed) in Marshalltown,” he said.

Fellow Councilor Jeff Schneider noted how low the bid came in under the estimate and described the news as “fantastic.” A motion to accept the bid quickly passed by a unanimous vote.

The sections to be improved include North 2nd Street from West State Street to West Lincoln Street, West Webster Street from North 2nd Street to North Center Street, West Grant Street from North 2nd Street to North Center Street, South 1st Street from West Boone Street to West Church Street, West Linn Street from South 3rd Street to South 1st Street, East Boone Street from South 12th Avenue Place to South 14th Avenues, South 14th Avenue from East Nevada Street to East Linn Street, West State Street from North 13th Street to North 5th Street, West Ingledue Street from South 6th Street to South Center Street, South 3rd Street from West Ingledue Street to West Ferner Street, West Ferner Street from South 3rd Street to South Center Street, Highview Drive from West Ingledue Street to cul-de-sac, East Ferner Street from South Center Street to South 2nd Avenue and South 1st Avenue from East Anson Street to East Ingledue Street, South 16th Avenue from East Nevada Street to Norris Place, Norris Place from South 16th Avenue to South 17th Avenue and South 17th Avenue from Norris Place to East Linn Street.

In other business, the council:

• Approved the consent agenda as listed.

• Watched as Police Chief Chris Jones and Capt. Sadie Weekley received an Iowa Law Enforcement Accreditation Program (ILEAP) Award from retired Clive Police Chief Michael Venema.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.