The construction site of the new Brown Elementary School in Whitehouse, Texas, on Friday, March 16, 2018. (Chelsea Purgahn/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

Smith County officials are planning to award a contract to one of seven local construction companies to widen a road near a school being built in Whitehouse.

The companies have submitted bids to widen a portion of County Road 2191, also known as Oscar Burkett Road, that leads up to the new Brown Elementary School the Whitehouse Independent School District is building.

The companies have submitted bids ranging from about $699,000 to about $865,000 to widen the portion of Oscar Burkett Road that leads to the school driveway and perform drainage upgrades, according to information provided by the county.

The Smith County Commissioners Court is scheduled to consider the bids and award a contract to one of the companies at its meeting at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in the Smith County Courthouse Annex Building, according to the meeting agenda.

The lowest bid is from Anchor Contracting LLC, which is offering to complete the project for $698,968. Other low bids are from A.E. Shull & Co., which bid $723,245, and B&E Construction Inc., which bid $739,089.

The four highest bids are from Reynolds & Kay Ltd., L&L Asphalt, Baker & Reid LLC, Longview Bridge & Road Ltd. Those companies have bid $741,223, $756,343, $790,142 and $865,440, respectively.

Smith County Engineer Frank Davis said in February the court already has set aside money to perform the road project and a handful of others near Whitehouse schools as part of its annual budget process.

Davis said the money for the Whitehouse ISD projects was set aside in the budget as special funds, and is not part of the $39.5 million road bond package voters approved in November.

County Judge Nathaniel Moran said in February that other school districts that need road projects, such as Lindale ISD, were a significant reason for seeking the road bond.

A full agenda for Tuesday’s commissioners court meeting is available at TylerPaper.com. 

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