“A bidder with a better proposal could still win the bid, even if it’s a little higher than other bids—60 percent is the proposal, 40 percent is price,” Narkiewicz says. “However, the quality of the proposal has to be enough to offset the difference.”

What makes a quality proposal? Narkiewicz says in addition to cost, a good proposal includes “the qualifications of people doing the work, how they proposal to do the work and how they will design things,” he says. “The winning contractor said, ‘Even though you’ll allow six months of closure, we won’t do any closure.’ We valued a proposal that wouldn’t include lane closure.”

VIDEO: To view a video of the Oregon 38 Elk Creek to

Hardscrabble Creek bridge replacement, go to the You Tube link, www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dTZIZmLlWs.