Low bidder withdraws from $3M Mariposa Creek project

Long awaited plans to improve the Mariposa Creek Parkway will have to wait a while longer, after the low bidder withdrew from the project and other bids came in well over budget.

Mariposa County Development Services has budgeted $3 million for construction of Phase III of the project, with 15 percent reserved for construction management.

But the lowest bidder for Phase III — Cal Valley Construction — asked to withdraw their bid of $3,019,000. The company was only $4,000 over the county’s budget of $3,015,000.

County development staff have not said when or why Cal Valley Construction withdrew its bid.

Phase III of the project went out for bid on April 14.

The next lowest bidder, Agee Construction Corp., was 30 percent over budget, coming in at $3.8 million.

There were three other bidders, all higher, with the highest bid at $4.1 million, more than $1 million over the projected budget.

The project is being fully funded by the Caltrans Active Transportation Program, which approved a grant for the project in October 2021.

The Mariposa County Board of Supervisors were set to discuss next steps this week, which could include the county making up the difference, or more likely, directing staff to work with the remaining lowest bidder to revise the scope of the project.

Phase III of the Mariposa Creek Parkway project is focused on the area along Mariposa Creek between 8th Street and Fournier Road, which wraps around the Mariposa Cemetery.

In many ways, it is the most ambitious part of the entire project.

It includes a half-mile multi-use trail connecting the Arts Park to 8th Street and the Joe Howard bridge. It also features pedestrian bridges, trailhead amenities, a parkway bridge, lighting and landscaping.

Improvements to Mariposa Creek Parkway, and how to integrate it better with the town of Mariposa, have been talked about since the 1980s. The first Master Plan for the parkway was created in 1991.

In more recent years, the parkway has been seen as a way to draw tourists to Mariposa as a recreational destination outside of Yosemite National Park.

A number of studies culminated in the 145-page Mariposa Creek Parkway Master Plan in December 2019.

The area slated for Phase III has been a frequent location for the unhoused. There is often garbage and debris along the right-of-way. The project hopes to change the perception of the area.

Phase 1 of the project was the Mariposa Arts Park and Phase II included the parkway along Stroming Road.

Phase 4 of the project would involve extending trails west to the Mariposa County Jail. Phase 5 would extend trails east all the way to the Mariposa County Fairgrounds.