Road Contract Awarded as Township Races Against Bridge Funding Deadline

The Manhattan Township Highway Department has awarded a $91,000 contract for its annual road resurfacing program, while simultaneously facing a critical deadline that puts $500,000 in county funding for a major bridge project at risk.

At the April 8 township meeting, Highway Commissioner Jim Baltas announced that Steffens 3D Construction submitted the winning bid for this year’s tar and chip projects. The $91,000 price tag does not include the cost of stone, which the Road District will supply itself. To highlight rising costs, Commissioner Baltas noted that a similar project in 2016 cost only $36,000.

More urgently, the commissioner reported that the Kankakee Street Bridge replacement project is scheduled to go out for bids by July 16, 2025. If the bidding process is delayed beyond August 2025, the township will lose a $500,000 grant from Will County earmarked for the construction. The anticipated start date for the bridge work is spring 2026.

In other highway news, the demolition of the Baker Road Bridge began in early April as planned. The board approved the highway commissioner’s expenses as part of the finance report.