Shawnan, which is currently engaged in constructing improvements to Brand Boulevard, submitted a $3.85 million bid for the project.
"Staff said the second bidder was above market, so they want to re-advertise the bidding," City Manager Jim Starbird said. "They didn't think the engineer's estimate was wrong, just that it was wrong the way we bid it."
Rather than split the bid up into separate components, as they did the first time around, city officials will come up with a total bid amount, which should make it easier for contractors to meet the city's estimates, Starbird said.
If the council approves advertising the project again, it will delay the start of construction on the project by several months, from March to June. Completion is now slated for October 2006.
The first delay was waiting for Metrolink to approve the city's plans for the last phase of the improvement project, which includes a greenbelt on the west side of the road between Goodwin and Grandview avenues. Those plans were approved last summer.
The city had to make several concessions to get approval from Metrolink and the Metropolitan Transit Authority, which owns part of the land on which the improvements will be constructed.
Changes included reducing the planting area from 20 feet to 7 feet and shortening the height of planned hedges and trees to provide better visibility for train operators.
The work, which will also include new bus shelters and a decorative retaining wall at Hawthorne Street, is a key component of the city's redevelopment plans for the area, Councilman Frank Quintero said.
"This is something that should have been accomplished years ago," Quintero said.
"It will be a turnaround for San Fernando Road. It will upgrade the area and as a result of the landscaping, I am sure that the business owners will begin to make their own improvements."
* FRED ORTEGA covers City Hall. He may be reached at (818) 637-3235 or by e-mail at fred.ortega@latimes.com.
