The city of Troy opened bids for a project to begin the next phase of expansion on the airport runway.

Of eight bidders, the lowest was Newell Road Builders at around $2.7 million, an amount Mayor Jimmy Lunsford said falls within budget.

“That’s in line with the estimate on the project, so we are hoping we can proceed,” Lunsford said.

The final bid award will come at the hands of the Troy City Council.

But Lunsford said first the next step will be for engineers to do inspection on the bid specifics.

Then, the bid will be sent to the Alabama Aeronautics Division and the Federal Aviation Administration in Jackson, Miss., for approval. Once that is complete, it will come before the Troy City Council for a final OK, something expected to happen in the next two to three weeks.

This project will complete the dirt work needed to begin the next stage of the runway expansion.

“This will complete all the dirt work, and we will have everything brought up to grade,” Lunsford said.

“Then in the start of the next fiscal year, we will begin the application process of preparing for bid in paving and lighting.”

He said he anticipates that project to be awarded also in the next funding year, which begins Oct. 1.

This set of funding will come 95 percent from the FAA, 2.5 percent from the state of Alabama and 2.5 percent from the city of Troy.

The city’s share will come to about $67,000 for this upcoming project, if Newell Road Builders is awarded the contract.

Other bids ranged from the highest at $7.5 million down to the $2.7 million bid.