Two envelopes, two price lines each, and one contractor ahead on both. The Bethpage Water District opened bids for Phase 3 of its North South Transmission Main at 3:00 p.m. on March 12, 2026, at district headquarters on Adams Avenue.
The minutes record the tab. Bancker Construction bid a total base of $8,428,060.00 and a total alternate of $8,383,830.00. Allen Industries bid a total base of $9,463,060.00 and a total alternate of $9,143,060.00. Both posted 5% bid bonds.
Bancker's alternate is $759,230 under Allen's, a 9.1% gap. On the base line the gap is $1,035,000, or 12.3%. With two bidders, the gap is also the spread. The minutes publish no engineer's estimate. The district's engineer, H2M, is reviewing the bids and will report to the board. The apparent low is not an award. The board listing is RFI-002828.
Phase 3 is the park segment; the district's engineering reports call it "Phase 3 (Park)." When the district started the project in 2021, it described a 10,100-foot, 24-inch transmission main running from its BGD production facility on Plainview Road in the north to the distribution network in the south, with portions beneath Bethpage State Park under easements from the state parks department. The district called the main part of its plan to develop water sources outside the Northrop Grumman/Navy plume, able to move more than 5,400 gallons a minute to the south end of its system.
Bancker is not new to this line. The same minutes show H2M meeting with Bancker on Phase 2, the Central Avenue segment, with remaining work still being scheduled and the district pressing for a credit on fittings. Now Bancker holds the apparent low on the next leg too.
Why this matters. Two bids on an $8 million-plus water main is a thin field for Nassau County. Large-diameter pipe under state parkland narrows who can price it: easements, restoration standards and a working park overhead all cost money. The alternate matters as well. The district has two price lines to choose from, and the award will say which one it takes.
What to do next. Pipe and fittings suppliers, restoration and paving subs, and testing and inspection firms should reach Bancker now. The engineer's recommendation goes to the district board first. The same engineer's report lists other active district water main work, including Elm Drive.
Update, Sept. 28, 2026: At its April 2, 2026 meeting the district board heard H2M's recommendation to award the Total Alternate bid for Phase 3 (Park) to Bancker Construction and made a motion to accept it, according to the district's minutes.