SKOWHEGAN — After the bids were opened and a last–minute legal opinion was obtained, a new Somerset County Jail appeared to be more than $2 million under budget Thursday night.

“My sleepless nights are over. I am going to sleep tonight,” said Philip Roy, chairman of the board of commissioners, on Thursday.

Each of the three qualified bidders submitted bids well under the $24.5 million construction budget for the new jail, but the apparently low bidder, Consigli Construction Co. of Portland and Milford, MA, was disqualified because if failed to submit a properly executed bid guarantee.

That left Fairfield–based Sheridan Corporation as the apparent lowest bidder with a base bid of $21,999,998.