Surety Bonds

Let’s Stay Open, Right?

06.21.2021

A recently discovered crack in the I-40 Hernando de Soto Bridge over the Mississippi River underscores the widespread impact of emergency closures. Yep, infrastructure, strikes the supply chain again.

 Shutdowns Are Costly

 As reported by Construction Dive, a crack running through a steel support beam of the

I-40 Hernando de Soto Bridge over the Mississippi River was discovered during a recent inspection, forcing the closure of the bridge as it’s safety is further assessed. Because the bridge is important in the movement of freight between the East Coast and Southwest and from the Midwest to the Gulf coast, its closure sets up yet more supply chain disruptions. The bridge carried over 35,000 vehicles a day—these are now re-routed to a bridge already carrying over 40,000 vehicles a day. Hmmm! Here’s how that’s going:

The Arkansas Trucking Association estimates a cost of $2.4 million daily to the trucking industry for each day the bridge is closed….But it was not just road traffic that was interrupted. The waterway that flows beneath the bridge is also an important freight artery that carries 470,323 short tons of freight every day, pulled on barges up and down the Mississippi. The waterway was closed for three days as the agencies determined if traveling under the bridge was safe for marine traffic. The closure created a backup of 62 tug boats carrying 1,058 barges. The most common commodities carried through this part of the river are soybeans, distillate fuel oil and corn.

 With infrastructure plans and budgets bumping along the path, economic experts are optimistic that road and bridge construction will be heavily invested in over the next five years. That’s why builders across the country are gearing up now, with The Partnership Account® from Colonial Surety. Act now—and curtail the frustration at bid time. Colonial’s taken the pain out of getting, managing and monitoring the bid, performance and payment bonds you’ll need.

Armed with The Partnership Account® you’ll go after new projects with confidence — knowing your bidding and financial information is secure. Plus, you’ll have instant, digital bid, performance and payment bonds—and a whole lot more. Let’s get you going. It only takes a few minutes to enter your essential information for pre-qualification—and all companies that apply receive Dun & Bradstreet scores—for free!

Pre-qualify and Receive Free Scores Here!

On The Move

 There’s no time to waste—and no reason to wait. Needed building projects are already taking off around the country. Hospitals are building. Schools too. Planning to bid for an airport contract? Get ready for take-off. Once approved for The Partnership Account® with Colonial, you’ll take advantage of game-changing services, designed specifically for contractors. For example, you’ll:

 

  • Access a powerful online surety management system to issue bid bonds, order performance, and payment bonds, update work in progress, check your current and aggregate limits, view open and closed bid and performance bonds, and more.

 

  • Clearly see your bonding limits, and always have direct access to our underwriter if you need the excess capacity to bid on a job.

 

  • Use your private Owners Dashboard® for a personal window into your underwriting profile. Review the statistical analysis of your financial statements and free Dun and Bradstreet scores, profitability, and more.

 

  • Protect the confidentiality of your bids—after all, no one’s in the middle when you do it yourself, right?

 

Yes Please Qualify Me For The Partnership Account® Today!

 

Colonial is built on reliability, affordability and dependability. Founded in 1930, we have proven long-term financial stability; we’re licensed in every single state in the U.S.; we are listed by the U.S. Treasury as an approved surety; and we’re rated “A” Excellent by A.M. Best – an accolade of which we are extremely proud. Let’s Partner!