NYSDOT's July 30 letting drew seven bids for contract D265799, bridge repairs on the Long Island Expressway (I-495) over Commack Road in the Town of Smithtown. Peter Scalamandre & Sons Inc. was low at $11,331,713.00. Tully Construction Company Inc. was second at $13,447,257.15, $2,115,544.15 back, an 18.67% gap.

The rest: H & L Contracting LLC $13,990,550.00; Northeast Structural Steel Inc. $14,847,120.26; Bove Industries Inc. $18,658,000.00; Defoe Corporation $19,120,995.15; Posillico Civil Inc. $24,762,575.39. Low to high, the spread is 118.52%: the top bid was more than double the bottom one. The median is $14,847,120.26.

NYSDOT does not print an engineer's estimate with its letting results. The public yardstick is the state's Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), which carries a construction line for each project. For PIN 022967, the STIP describes preventive-maintenance repairs on the eastbound and westbound I-495 bridges over County Road 4, bridge identification numbers 1049361 and 1049362, in the Towns of Huntington and Smithtown. It carries $17.25 million for construction, mostly federal Bridge Formula Program money. Scalamandre's low is $5,918,287 under that line, 34.31%. Four of the seven bids came in under it. The job is federal aid in Region 10, with a deposit of 5% of bid and a DBE goal of 0%. NYSDOT issued one amendment on July 23. The proposal sets completion for Sept. 30, 2027. Our board: RFI-002560.

Traffic signal and lighting requirements, Nassau and Suffolk (D265812, PIN 0SLR.26). Two bids. Commander Electric Inc. was low at $7,466,700.22, and Hinck Electrical Contractor bid $8,151,407.52, 9.17% higher. It is a requirements contract: NYSDOT orders signal and lighting repairs, replacements and new installs on state highways and parkways across both counties as needs arise. The STIP carries $5.0 million for construction, all state funds, so the low is $2,466,700.22 over, 49.33%. The ad listed goals of 8% MBE, 7% WBE and 6% SDVOB and incentive/disincentive provisions. Completion is Dec. 10, 2027. Board: RFI-002559.

Both Long Island jobs opened the same morning as I-81 Viaduct Contract 6A in Syracuse, a drainage trunk line whose low bid was $143,519,598.38. The Island's jobs are smaller: keep two interstate bridges in service and keep the lights and signals running.

Why this matters. A 118% spread on a bridge repair job usually means the field read the unknowns differently: concrete and steel repair quantities, how deep the deterioration goes, and night work under LIE traffic. The bottom four priced it under the state's construction line; the top three priced it well above. On the signal contract, a requirements job running 49% over its program line with only two bidders shows how thin Long Island's state electrical bench is.

What to do next. Neither apparent low is an award. Concrete repair, bearing, joint, structural steel, containment and traffic-control subs should be pricing to Scalamandre. Certified MBE, WBE and SDVOB electrical suppliers and subs should get in front of Commander Electric now, since a requirements contract spends its goals work order by work order over two years. Both itemized tabulations are on NYSDOT's bid-tabulations page.