Five companies from four states submitted bids for the modifications. The apparent low bid of $15,346,900 was submitted by SEMA Construction Inc. of Centennial, Colorado. The bids ranged from the apparent low bid of $15,346,900 to $18,758,650. Reclamation's engineer's estimate for the modifications was $14,750,000. Reclamation secured Congressional approval to proceed with modifications on August 25, 2011. Reclamation will evaluate all of the bids for accuracy and completeness prior to award of the contract. Contract award is scheduled for September 2011.

"We are very pleased with the quality of bids we received," said NKAO Area Manager Aaron Thompson. "We received a number of very competitive bids, as indicated by the relatively narrow bid range. Reclamation is looking forward to awarding the contract and getting the construction process underway." Reclamation estimates the work could take approximately two years to complete.

Red Willow Dam, located on Red Willow Creek 11 miles north of McCook, is an earth-fill embankment with a structural height of 126 feet that forms a reservoir of 85,070 acre-feet. A concrete spillway is located in the right abutment. An outlet works through the base of the dam provides for river and irrigation releases for downstream diversions. The reservoir behind this dam is Hugh Butler Lake.

Current updates and information are available at: www.usbr.gov/gp/nkao/redwillow/