OTTAWA — The low bid got the high ball from the Franklin County Commission. The county accepted the low bid of nearly $186,000 from Clayton Railroad Construction of West Union, Ohio; to repair several bridge trestles along the Franklin County segment of the Midland Railway. Midland president Mike Fox says he’s surprised the low bid is $110,000 below a federal grant offered to the railroad. Fox said when he checked with other railroads, including Norfolk Southern and a major short-line holding company, about Clayton’s work on wooden rail trestles, the company got high markes. Fox said he had no problem with recommending that Clayton’s bid be accepted. The Baldwin City-based tourist railroad hasn’t been able to use the Franklin County track because of the condition of the trestles. Fox says when the work is done in mid-summer, the trains can go all the way to Ottawa. The county had to apply for the grant for the railroad which is why the commission had to award the bid.
