October 28, 2022 |
The Saratoga Town Council and the Saratoga Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board met Tuesday with representatives from Lewis and Lewis to discuss the state of the Spring Avenue waterline replacement project.
Lewis and Lewis’ Josh Ward started off the meeting by telling the town that his team hasn’t encountered any more ground water on the east side of town.
Pictured above: Spring Avenue bore pit. Photo by Bigfoot 99.
The project is far behind schedule. The contractor was supposed to have the job completed by Halloween. Caleb Tygum, Lewis and Lewis’ construction manager, said the delays resulted from unexpected amounts of water in the bore pit on First and Spring Avenue. Tygum said no one could have foreseen the lengths they would need to go through to get the pit ready for use. The chairman of the Impact Joint Powers Board, Richard Raymer, said Lewis and Lewis were made aware of the ground water before anything was put down in writing.
Tygum agreed that his team knew about the water. He said they had everything under control until they reached the bore pit. Tygum admitted that Lewis and Lewis were not prepared for the problems caused by the pit.
Councilman Ron Hutchins questioned whether it was really the bore pit that caused most of the project’s delays. He said the contractors blamed their pump supplier, Rain for Rent, even before the pit became an issue.
Tygum reiterated the fact that his team was prepared to deal with the ground water. Their plan worked until they reached the bore pit. He said no one could have predicted how difficult drying the pit would be.
Councilwoman D’Ron Campbell pointed out to construction manager, Caleb Tygum, that the job was delayed by three weeks. With an original start date of July 18th, the contractors didn’t arrive on site until the middle of August.
Richard Raymer said he was against the idea of starting the project so late in the season. Tygum said his team discovered problems that wouldn’t have waited until next year.
Tygum told the council that his crew still intend to finish the job. Numerous setbacks have caused additional costs, called liquidated damages, or LD’s. Tygum asked the town to be lenient.
The encroaching winter will make work harder for Lewis and Lewis. Even if the contractors are able to finish replacing all of the water lines, paving the torn-up streets will be difficult. Asphalt must be poured on days when the temperature is, at lease, 40 degrees. Tygum is getting blacktop from Rock Springs, meaning the tar has plenty of time to cool in transit. The town raised this concern at Tuesday’s regular meeting with Lewis and Lewis. Tygum is confident there will be enough days between now and the end of November to put down the road surface.
Despite numerous delays, Tygum said he is sure Lewis and Lewis can still get the job done properly. The town is concerned the contractor may take short cuts to ensure they finish before winter. Josh Morris from T-O Engineering will visit the site today and make a recommendation on how to proceed.
