WELLS — Steps toward repairing the seawall on Webhannet Drive in Wells have been pushed back until later this year after selectmen voted unanimously to reject a pair of repair bids on Tuesday.

The seawall, which stretches the length of Webhannet Drive, has shown signs of deterioration in certain areas, according to Town Manager Jon Carter.

“It’s a seawall that has broken up a little bit over the years and now has rebar showing,” Carter said. “We need to repair it in some spots, which will require cutting those sections out and replacing them.”

When the bidding process had initially opened, several vendors interested in the project attended pre-bid meetings, however only two submitted bids in the end.

The lowest bid, $126,745, was from Kittery construction company H.L. Patton. The highest bid, $264,417, came in from a Quincy, Massachusetts-based A.C.K Marine.

Carter said the town had projected through engineering specifications that the cost of repair would be close to half of that of the lowest bid, about $70,000.

“We analyzed what might have gone wrong in doing this,” Carter said Tuesday. “What we have recommended to the Board of Selectmen is to reject both bids and to rebid this in the middle of the summer with some corrective specification language that we hope would bring the cost down so we can do these repairs to the seawall on Webhannet Drive in the fall.”

Once the bidding process is revisited in mid-July, Carter added, the project would be put on hold until the summer beach season is well over.

“We’re thinking a fall installation is best so we don’t disturb summer beachgoers or anything like that,” Carter said.

The seawall serves as a coastal defense to protect spaces of human habitation and leisure areas from crashing waves and incoming tides.

— Staff Writer Ryder Schumacher can be reached at 282-1535, or via email at rschumacher@journaltribune.com.