SOMERVILLE — About 300 customers, most of them residential, are in line for sewer here, said Mayor Ray Long after the town opened bids Thursday for Phase 1 of its sewer project.

Among 10 companies submitting bids, Hokes Bluff Construction Co. Inc. had the low bid of $3.1 million. The next lowest bid came from Apel Machine & Supply Co. Inc. of Hanceville at $3.3 million.

Adam Lea, an engineer with Ladd Environmental Consultants, said all bids are unofficial until he tabulates them.

“We go by unit prices rather than the bid bottom-line total,” he said. “I should be able to issue the official results by Monday. Construction could begin by the first of the year.”

The 8-inch force main will run northwest from Sharp Road in Somerville, less than two miles from the caution light at Alabama 67 and Alabama 36, down Alabama 67 to Priceville.

The main will connect to a 15-inch line at the bottom of Priceville Mountain that serves Cove Creek Crossing and Churchill Downs subdivisions. Priceville agreed to treat Somerville’s sewage in November 2006.

In total, including side roads, the project will involve more than 15 miles of pipe.

Long said more than 260 residents are potential sewer customers on Phase 1 and about 30 non-residential customers, including churches and residents.

“We’re excited about the bids,” he said. “They came in within the monies we had allocated for the project.”

Grant, loan

Somerville got a $2.7 million U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development grant and borrowed another $1 million on a 40-year, low-interest loan.

Vester Hill, president of the Hokes Bluff firm, said his company has been in business 42 years.

“We had 35 full-time employees about two years ago but the slow economy forced us to drop down to 12,” he said. “This will give us a boost. We look forward to getting started.”

Long said the Town Council will meet as soon as the official results are in to pass a resolution accepting the bid.

“We’ve had our doubters for years who said we’d never get sewer,” he said. “But the project is just a few months from starting.”

Phase 2 will run from Sharp Road to Alabama 67 and Alabama 36. The town already has an Environmental Protection Agency grant of $384,000 toward that phase.

How they bid

Ten companies bid on Phase 1 of Somerville’s sewer project: Hokes Bluff Construction Co. Inc., $3,196,652; Apel Machine & Supply Co. Inc., of Hanceville, $3,333,658.35; T&K Construction LLC of Vinemont, $3,344,520.65; Patterson & Wilder Construction Co. Inc., of Pelham, $3,843,526; Christopher Plumbing & Electric Inc., of Athens, $3,981,051.21; T.J. Construction Inc., of Florence, $4,139,012.02; Sutton Contracting Inc., of Mount Hope, $4,642,596.40; Sue-Jac Inc., of Decatur, $4,952,202.02; MidSouth Utility Group Inc., of Lebanon, Tenn., $5,024,925; and Jones Utility & Contracting Co. Inc. of Gardendale, $5,961,351.79.

RONNIE THOMAS