GORHAM – Two brothers, owners of Shaw Earthworks Inc. in Gorham, have outbid their father’s company to build a state roundabout at the intersection of New Portland Road, Libby Avenue and Brackett Road in Gorham.
Brian Shaw, 29, and Bradford Shaw, 22, who own Shaw Earthworks, bid $937,236, according to Mark Latti, a spokesman for the Maine Department of Transportation.
Shaw Brothers Construction Inc. of Gorham, co-owned by their father, Danny Shaw, finished second with a $1,054,123 bid.
The brothers under bid their father’s company by $116,887.
“We left some money on the table,” Brian Shaw said Tuesday.
“Imagine that,” Danny Shaw said about his sons’ outbidding him.
Danny Shaw said his sons began working for him sweeping floors when they were 8 years old.
He was surprised that his sons submitted a bid on the project.
“I’ve never seen them bid a job that big,” he said.
The Maine Department of Transportation had estimated construction cost at $1.5 million. Latti said this week Shaw Earthworks is the apparent low bidder and the bid would be reviewed to ensure everything is covered.
“We do that with every single contract,” Latti said.
Latti expected a contract would be awarded this month. Brian Shaw hopes to start construction in early July after a pre-construction meeting with the transportation department officials.
The roundabout is aimed at improving safety at a high crash site. Transportation officials have described the intersection as one of the most dangerous in the state with five times the number of accidents as similar intersections.
The intersection now has a blinking traffic light and elevated stop signs at Libby Avenue and Brackett Road.
Bids on the project were opened June 1. Latti said other bidders on the project were R.J. Grondin & Sons, Peters Construction and Lane Construction. Latti said the department usually receives two to three bids on construction projects. The range on the submitted bids was up to $1.26 million.
The roundabout will be the fifth in Gorham.
Brian Shaw said Shaw Earthworks is in its sixth year and the company is headquartered on Cyr Drive near the intersection where they’ll build the roundabout.
“Right in our front yard,” Brian Shaw said.
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