So that's where the money has been going.

With engineering consultants eating up as much as 69 percent of some state construction project costs, Gov. Joe Manchin is calling for changes to West Virginia's bidding process.

The governor wants competitive bids to decide which engineering and design firms get state-funded contracts.

His bill, introduced Friday, would apply both to Division of Highway and state Water Development Authority projects - but only when they involve nothing but state funding. Projects aided by federal dollars, including those now proposed for money from the stimulus package, would be exempt.

Highway officials say the measure is the latest attempt to rein in the cost of engineering consultants, which they say averaged $120 million annually during the late 1990s. While the yearly average has dropped to $26 million since 2005, administration figures suggest that they can still account for between 7 percent and 69 percent of the total price tag. Officials could not immediately say whether the typical project cost is closer to the top or bottom of the range.

http://www.wvgazette.com/News/200903060615