Longmont-based Flatiron Constructors Inc. will employ up to 300 people on a project to build a replacement for the Minnesota bridge over the Mississippi River that collapsed and killed 13 people.
The company will hire in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area for the craft positions needed for the $233.8 million project, which will be done as a joint venture with Seattle-based Manson Construction Co. Supervisors will come from other projects Flatiron is wrapping up, said Paul Driscoll, the company’s chief financial officer.
The team’s winning bid was the most expensive and tied for the longest construction timetable at 437 days.
“The unique feature about the project is it’s a very tight schedule,” Driscoll said Thursday. “It is a very sensitive area from the local standpoint. A tragedy occurred there, and we have to be sensitive to the local population.”
The bridge that collapsed Aug. 31 was one of Minnesota’s busiest, carrying more than 100,000 vehicles over the Mississippi River every day, and the state wants it replaced by the end of 2008.
The parent company of Flatiron, Netherlands-based Royal BAM Group, is on the verge of selling the Colorado bridge builder.
“Negotiations are in prog ress,” Driscoll said. “We’ll know more in the near future.”
There are no plans to relocate the company from Longmont, where it employs 120 people, he said.
Staff writer Margaret Jackson can be reached at 303-954-1473 or mjackson@denverpost.com.
