Great Bend Post
The City of Great Bend has been conducting meetings with Bartlett & West over conceptual design over the last couple of months for the reconstruction of the SRCA Dragstrip. The city is now in the phase of design where they need to continue to 100% design to bid out the project and ultimately a guaranteed maximum price for the project.
In January, the Great Bend City Council approved a contract with Bartlett & West for the rebuild design for $55,000. Going from the 60-percent drawings to full design, the cost comes in at $315,595. The bid includes the design of the new timing tower and moving the location of the track approximately 300 feet to the west of the original state line. The move would accommodate future growth if STAR bonds were to come to fruition.
If the motion to approve the amendment to the Bartlett & West agreement passes, the design development would continue and get to a point where the city feels comfortable with the guaranteed maximum price.
The dragstrip was reconstructed in 2021 by Suchy Construction but several issues followed the completion of the project making the surface unsafe. Tied up in a lawsuit to determine who was responsible for the mistakes, the city reached settlements with multiple parties to move forward.
Great Bend is hopeful to have the bid price by the end of May before demolition of the track begins in June. A motion to approve the amendment to the Bartlett & West agreement for $315,595 will be presented at the meeting on Monday, May 5 beginning at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.