One way to keep tabs on what local government is working on is to review the list of projects for which it is seeking proposals. The City of Ann Arbor Open Bids and Proposals page on the city website has a list of those projects, designed to provide information for contractors interested in doing work for the city.

Not everything which goes through the bid process will eventually be built, and projects are often modified after bids are accepted. With that in mind, here's a run down of some work the city has in the queue on the East Stadium bridges, a cafe at the Municipal Center and some water main work.

East Stadium Bridges

The City is seeking a project manager for the East Stadium Bridges project.

RFP-790 (PDF) seeks bids for project management and construction engineering services for the East Stadium Boulevard Replacement and Improvements Project. This project will replace the decaying East Stadium bridges, and the proposal seeks a project manager who will manage the "significant reporting and federal-aid oversight responsibilities" associated with the project.

The project timeline expects that the project manager contract will be approved by City Council at its May 2, 2011 meeting, and that the bridge contractor will received the notice to proceed on construction on Oct. 3, 2011. The new bridges are expected to be open to traffic in November 2012.

The construction timeline was noted on A2Politico in Weekly Whopper: "The City will fix the Stadium bridges next spring."

Municipal Building Cafe

RFP-783 (PDF) seeks bids for a contractor to operate a cafe in the atrium of City Hall.

The cafe's location will be located in the atrium which connects the Larcom building (city hall) and the new municipal building, which is proximate to a consistent flow of traffic being located directly across from the elevator banks. The Ann Arbor Police Department will be headquartered in the new municipal building which will have a staffed front desk on a 24-hours basis. Due to the open lobby of the municipal building, the atrium is scheduled to be unlocked and open to the  public at all times of the day."

The RFP language anticipates that the area might be operated "consistent with a vending area like the Ann Arbor District Library operates," which would make it less grand than one of the coffeehouses that dot the downtown landscape. Bids are now closed, and there are two proposals under review.

Water main replacement projects

Several projects are in the bid process to replace water mains. ITB-4130A describes replacement of a water main on Catherine between Glen and Zina Pitcher Place, adjacent to the University of Michigan's Catherine Street Parking Structure. The detailed engineering drawings warn the contractor of a 12-inch high-pressure gas main that goes through the area. ITB-4125 looks for bids for work on Vaughn Street and also on South Fifth Avenue between Liberty and Washington.

More details

A full page of open bids and proposals is maintained by the city and updated as needed. To receive updates on this page, sign up for the GovDelivery update service.

Edward Vielmetti looks at municipal websites for AnnArbor.com.