After some discussion about how far the city wants to proceed with a proposed road widening project on Bell and Westwoods roads, the Wright City aldermen approved the administration’s recommendation to engage with three engineering firms with the goal of possibly hiring one to design the road widening project.

Wright City Mayor Michelle Heiliger said that the city has narrowed the list of possible engineering firms for the project down to three recommended candidates: BFA Inc., Bax Engineering Co. and CDG Engineers.

Alderman Karey Owens voiced some concerns regarding the timeline of the proposed project. Director of Public Works Kyle Roettger said the idea behind seeking engineering for the project is so that the city can come up with a more detailed plan regarding exactly what the project would consist of. Heiliger noted that the road widening project would be complicated and would require engineering so that city officials can determine how best to proceed.

“If we can get the engineering done, we can pull the trigger on construction when we want,” she said. “I don’t want to get into a position where we want to do construction, but we have to wait six months to get the engineering done.”

Owens said her concern is that the city spent a bunch of money on the engineering for downtown only to discover the work would be way more expensive than originally envisioned.

Heiliger responded that the purpose of getting engineering for downtown projects wasn’t necessarily to immediately do projects, but to be able to apply for grants for any projects the city may want to pursue.

Heiliger added that the city made a list of projects to be paid using bond funds. She asked Owens if she wanted to take the road widening project off of the bond list. Owens responded that she didn’t think the city could take the project off the list, but she was concerned all bond funds might end up getting used for the project.

Alderman Ramiz Hakim clarified that all the board would be doing would be agreeing to meet with the three engineering firms with the goal of picking one, who would then quote a price for services.

“We are not making any commitments by engaging with the engineers,” he said, adding that the board could still make a decision at a later date to continue moving forward with the project or delaying it for a period of time.

Heiliger later added that one of the issues facing the city currently is that city officials have no idea what the cost of the project would be. Having engineering done on the project would allow city officials to have a better idea of the total cost of the project.

City Attorney Paul Rost agreed with Heiliger, noting that having the engineering in hand would allow city officials to understand the actual impact financially on the road project.

After some more minor discussion the board voted 4-0 to engage with the three engineering firms.