A sidewalk replacement project that is being funded with federal stimulus money is expected to begin on April 26 in Marthasville. Alderman Leo Tobben recently attended a preconstruction meeting with representatives from Cannon General Contractors and MoDOT and informed other city officials at Tuesday night's board of aldermen meeting about the expected start date. He said Cannon has 90 days to complete the project, but expects to complete the work much sooner. New sidewalks will be built on the north side of Highway D beginning in front of the firehouse and running downhill. The current sidewalks are cracked, uneven and partially covered by grass in many areas. The project to fix the sidewalks along Highway D is being funded through a MoDOT enhancement grant provided by the federal stimulus package. Cannon, of Troy, was awarded the project after submitting the lowest bid of $40,654.52. At Tuesday night's meeting, board members voted unanimously to authorize Mayor Dale Verges to sign preconstruction documents to keep the project proceeding. City officials have previously said the project should benefit residents and allow for easier access between the upper and lower portions of the city. They are also considering extending the sidewalk between 3rd and 4th streets if a separate contract can be worked out with Cannon. Marthasville was one of only two cities in the Boonslick Regional Planning Commission coverage area (Warren, Montgomery and Lincoln counties) to receive the transportation enhancement grant. Earlier, city officials had been concerned about meeting the requirements and bidding process for the project after a mathematical error was found in Cannon's bid when it was opened Jan. 25. At that time, Cannon had the second-lowest bid at $41,397.02, or $164.77 higher than what was believed to be the low bid of $41,232.25 submitted by Greenhead Construction of Montgomery City. However, once the bids were reviewed by Bart Korman, of Lewis-Bade Inc., it was discovered that a line item price for 4-inch gravel overlay was priced at $825.50 rather than the correct amount of $82.50 in Cannon's bid tab. The miscalculation caused Cannon to have the second-lowest bid. The bids were then forwarded to MoDOT for further clarification, a requirement since the project was being funded by stimulus funds. MoDOT found no problems fixing the math error, Korman said. A total of 15 bids were received, including three which were disqualified for failing to meet the bid requirements. The remaining 10 bids ranged from $42,255.50 to $91,205.