The city spending board approved an $18.3 million contract Wednesday to grade and build roads and lay pipes at the Uplands redevelopment project in Southwest Baltimore to Monumental Paving & Excavating, despite a protest from a rival firm. Representatives of that company, Civil Construction LLC of Cheverly, argued that it should have been awarded the contract because they submitted a bid for $800,000 less than Monumental. City officials explained to the five-member Board of Estimates that Civil Construction was disqualified because its bid exceeded a cap on startup costs and failed to meet the requirement for woman-owned subcontractors. City and state officials celebrated a groundbreaking last week at Uplands, the former site of a publicly-subsidized apartment complex, although several hurdles much be cleared before actual construction begins.
Julie.scharper@baltsun.com