PORTLAND, Maine — Shaw Brothers of Gorham has submitted the lowest bid for a contract to expand the International Marine Terminal where Icelandic shipper Eimskip moved its U.S. headquarters last year.
The project will create a key piece of infrastructure for the region, paving the way to link Pan-Am’s rail line with the waterfront terminal that provides access to Eimskip’s container shipping vessels that travel to ports throughout Europe and the North Atlantic. In June, the state completed a deal to purchase the land required for that expansion, which was part of a transportation bond approved by voters in November.
“This is an exciting and important step toward connecting Maine businesses to the world,” said Maine Transportation Commissioner David Bernhardt in a prepared statement.
The Department of Transportation expects construction will begin next month and continue into the fall and winter with a completion date of August 2015. The project includes expanding the terminal to the west to create a container storage air and build a new rail line connection.
The Maine Department of Transportation said Shaw submitted a bid of less than $8.6 million, beating the next nearest bidder, Richmond-based Wyman and Simpson, by about $300,000.
Shaw’s bid came in about $900,000 lower than the state’s estimated construction cost, according to the Department of Transportation.
CPM Constructors of Freeport submitted a bid of about $10 million, and Sargent Corp. of Stillwater submitted a bid just more than $10 million.
Ted Talbot, spokesman for the Department of Transportation, said it will be another two to five weeks before the contract is awarded for that portion of the project with a total estimated cost of $18 million.