WAITSBURG – The City of Waitsburg received an unpleasant surprise when bids for the Main Street Bridge project were opened on Feb. 23. The lowest bid came in nearly $100,000 over the engineer’s estimate, leaving the city to re-evaluate their options.

The cost discrepancy wasn’t due to a shortage of bidders. Twelve companies submitted bids for the job, with totals ranging from a low of $1,379,825 from Harry Johnson Plumbing and Excavation, Inc., to a high of $2,591,216 from Wesslen Construction, Inc. Anderson Perry and Associates Engineer, Eric Zitterkopf, had estimated the job at $1,2...