The Town Council returns from its summer hiatus this week with a number of items on its plate to consider.

High on the list is a bid for construction work on Shea Boulevard. The town received five bids for the work all falling between $3,218,591 and $3,336,306.

Nesbitt Contracting submitted the low bid and staff is recommending the council accept that as a responsible bid.

The town has $4.3 million budgeted for the work in its capital projects plan for this fiscal year.

The scope of the project is to widen Shea Boulevard to three lanes in each direction between SR 87 (Beeline Highway) and Technology Drive at the west end of the Target shopping center. The work will also include drainage structures, a new signal at Saguaro Boulevard and pavement replacement on Saguaro to a location just north of Trevino Drive.

The project is being funded with 70 percent from a Maricopa Association of Governments grant and Prop 400 transportation excise tax funds. The additional 30 percent is being funded from the town Capital Improvement Fund and street development fees.

If the bid is approved, staff will notify the contractor to proceed with work effective Aug. 25. The project should be done by May 2015.

The construction schedule overlaps with the planned Saguaro Boulevard reconstruction so there will be a period of time when the projects are ongoing simultaneously.

The agenda also includes a related item in a construction management agreement with HDR Construction Control Corp. for management services on the Shea project. That agreement is for $411,878.

For more on this week's council meeting see the Aug. 6 edition of The Times.