Comment by clickety_clack
20 hours ago
There’s strategic bidding as well. Specifications cannot cover every conceivable occurrence over the course of a 4 year construction project, so contractors can structure their bid to be low upfront with big pick ups later for change orders when issues arise.
Such tricks, however, are known. The further trick is that those looking at bids can flag gaps or not depending on their connections to the bidders.
Only a if the government people in charge care and know. My friends in the federal contracting space are either starving or backing the truck up and looting the place.
You’d be surprised how that game plays out… or maybe you wouldn’t if you’ve seen how far over budget public construction projects tend to go.