Council approves change order for North Fourth Avenue Sewer Project

WASHINGTON - Delays on the Fourth Avenue sewer project created a stir at Tuesday night's city council meeting. In the original contract the East 7th and North Fourth Avenue intersection was to be open in time for school on Aug. 15 and the entire project wrapped up by Sept. 11, but due to a sewer collapse at the railroad tracks on North Fourth Avenue, that will no longer be possible.

In a memo sent to the council, City Administrator Brent Hinson said the sewer collapse under the railroad tracks at North Fourth Avenue created a major unexpected issue. The issue becomes more complex because given the weight of trains passing over the tracks daily, the design needs to be strong enough to handle the pressure.

Fox Engineering brought back an estimate of $346,809.80 to rectify the situation. However Cornerstone Excavating is already on site and the city sought a change order from them instead with a price tag of $366,404.80, a 5.5% increase on the engineer's estimate.

The change order also came with a requested 70 day extension on the project, thus making the Aug. 15 completion date virtually impossible. Council Member Steven Gault was upset about the price of the emergency fix and felt it should have been bid out. Coupled with the fact the project was supposed to be done by the time school began, Gault said the situation was 'insane” and was not in favor of it.

'I'm not happy about this. It pisses me off,” he said.

Member Fran Stigers agreed, saying he did not feel it was acceptable the project would not be done in time for school to start when that was the original intent. With the project extending down Fourth Avenue in front of Stewart Elementary School, parents would have a difficult time dropping their students off, he said.

Hinson said the situation was an emergency due to the proximity of the railroad and needed to be handled quickly. BJ Miller, co-owner of Cornerstone Excavating, said the plan was to have the intersection opened in time for school. According to the change order sent to the council, the new completion date will be Nov. 20.

The council approved the change order with a vote of 3-2. Members Steven Gault and Elaine Moore voted in the negative and council member Brendan DeLong abstained with conflict.

Due to the change order the cost of the project has risen from $1,522,705.20 to $1,888,746.