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PennDOT Thursday announced that competitive bids were opened from seven construction companies interested in widening Interstate 81 between exit 57 for Route 114 in Silver Spring Township and exit 59 for Route 581 in Hampden Township.

The project involves extending the northbound on-ramp as an auxiliary ramp between the two interchanges and extending the westbound ramp from Route 581 along I-81 south to the interchange with Route 114.

The bids ranged from $19.5 million to nearly $26 million, with the apparent low bidder for the project being Blooming Glen Contractors out of Blooming Glen, Pennsylvania.

PennDOT said it will review the bid materials from Blooming Glen Contractors to verify the information that was submitted. If the information is complete and in order, the construction contract for the project will be awarded to Blooming Glen within the next four to six weeks, PennDOT said.

Construction work may begin as late as August or September. The completion of the project is scheduled for late spring 2018.

The seven bids were:

Blooming Glen Contractors with $19.55 million

Hempt Bros. Inc. with $19.697 million