Nassau County's Department of Public Works opened bids Aug. 18 on three lateral sewer lining and rehabilitation contracts: S30052-01G in Massapequa and Massapequa Park, S30052-02G in Lawrence and Inwood, and S30052-03G in Glen Cove. Each contract drew two bids, from the same two firms, and JR Cruz Corp. of Holmdel, N.J., came in apparent low on all three.
The county's bid summaries lay it out. Massapequa and Massapequa Park: JR Cruz at $6,245,400, Bancker Construction Corp. of Islip at $12,594,035, a gap of $6,348,635, with Bancker 101.7% above the low. Lawrence and Inwood: JR Cruz at $7,420,170, Bancker at $13,432,485, a gap of $6,012,315, or 81.0%. Glen Cove: JR Cruz at $7,978,200, Bancker at $13,995,277.50, a gap of $6,017,077.50, or 75.4%. Added up, JR Cruz's three prices total $21,643,770. Bancker's total $40,021,797.50.
The field was thin by choice, not by lack of interest. The county's prospective-bidders lists, dated before the opening, show eight firms on the Massapequa contract, seven on Lawrence and Inwood and eight on Glen Cove, among them Arold Construction, Doodyman To The Rescue, EnTech Infrastructure, Macedo Contracting Services, National Water Main Cleaning, United Paving and Vortex Services. Only JR Cruz and Bancker turned in prices. Both posted 10% bid security.
The work is cured-in-place pipe lining, where a resin-soaked liner is inserted into the old sewer and cured in place, so the street is not trenched end to end. The county's bid items call for 10,000 linear feet of 8-inch liner in Massapequa and Massapequa Park; 14,850 feet of 6-inch through 15-inch liner in Lawrence and Inwood; and 20,100 feet of 8-inch through 18-inch liner in Glen Cove, including 1,300 feet of 18-inch. Each contract also carries reinstatement of building connections (200, 300 and 400 of them), external and internal point repairs, manhole rehabilitation and casting work, removal of asbestos pipe, and roadway, curb, sidewalk and lawn restoration billed by jurisdiction: Town of Oyster Bay and Village of Massapequa Park, the county and Village of Lawrence, and the county and City of Glen Cove. The lateral grouting and lateral lining items are marked not used on all three, so the liner goes in the street sewers, not the house laterals.
The contract documents carry the county's M/WBE best-effort requirement, which the county's Office of Minority Affairs reviews with the apparent low bidder at a pre-award meeting. The county's summary sheet warns that listed bids may be withdrawn or disqualified after the opening. As of Aug. 19 none of the three is awarded. Apparent low is not an award. The board listings are RFI-001701, RFI-001702 and RFI-001703.
Why this matters. When two bidders land 75% to 102% apart on three near-identical scopes, they are not pricing the same risk. The gap is too consistent to be a typo on one sheet; it runs roughly $6 million on each contract. And the county got only two prices per job even though seven or eight firms were on each prospective-bidders list. If JR Cruz is awarded all three, one contractor carries lining work in Massapequa, Lawrence and Inwood, and Glen Cove at the same time.
What to do next. If JR Cruz holds its numbers and the county awards, the Holmdel firm will need local help for the pieces a lining crew does not self-perform: asphalt and concrete restoration in four separate jurisdictions, manhole rehab, excavation for point repairs down to 20 feet, asbestos pipe removal and landscape restoration. Price to JR Cruz now. Watch the county's award action on all three S30052 contracts. The county's current-bids page also lists its 2027 General Requirements Contract, H66302-REQ1, due Sept. 29.