Indianapolis-based F.A.
Wilhelm Construction Co. Inc. has been chosen to build a street-level enclosed
connector linking the
Lucas Oil Stadium, the Indiana Stadium & Convention Building Authority
announced this afternoon.
Wilhelm, which bid $11.8 million for the project, submitted the lowest bid of
six companies vying for the work, said Lori Dunlap, deputy director of the ISCBA.
Others that submitted bids
were Pepper Construction Co. Indiana LLC and Jungclaus-
Co. of
Ripberger Construction Corp. of Zionsville; and Weddle Brothers Construction
Co. Inc. of
The quarter-mile connector
will be on the
side of the convention center. It will connect to an already completed tunnel
that travels from
to the stadium.
The project should be
completed late next year.
Construction of the connector
includes what is known as a vertical transportation building that houses
stairs, elevators and escalators to shuttle visitors to and from the
underground segment of the walkway.
The climate-controlled
connector also will link the stadium to numerous downtown hotels, restaurants
and Circle Centre mall via the existing network of skywalks tied to the
convention center.
The walkway will be
essential in drawing some of the largest events the city hosts, including
mega-conventions, NCAA Final Fours and the Super Bowl in 2012.
The connector should be
finished about the same time the $275 million expansion of the convention
center is set to be finished.
Including the stadium, the
Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association will have 1.2 million square
feet of space, 65 percent more than it had in the existing convention center
and RCA Dome.
F.A. Wilhelm is the city’s
second-largest construction contractor behind Hunt Construction Group, the
construction manager on the stadium project. F.A. Wilhelm had local billings of
$478 million in 2008, according to IBJ statistics.
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