January 11, 2023 |
Late fees keep piling up for the contractor hired by the Town of Saratoga for last year’s big Spring Avenue utility and street improvement project. The job is unfinished and behind schedule. The heavy winter weather of the last month has offered few windows of opportunity for work.
As a result, Spring Avenue is closed to traffic on either side of Highway 130, the main drag through town. Barriers are posted and likely will remain in place into spring. Last year, the town hired Lewis and Lewis of Rock Springs to replace the aging water pipes underneath Spring Avenue. The contractor also is responsible for repaving the streets once the new line is installed.
The original project completion date of October 31st was in peril from the start. The contractors arrived three weeks late. Then water in the bore pit in front of town hall delayed work for several weeks. Halloween came and went without the job being finished.
Pictured above: Spring Avenue bore pit. Photo by Bigfoot 99.
When Lewis and Lewis missed the October 31st deadline, the town began to assess liquidated damages. The LD’s were included in the contract as an incentive to finish the work. The fees amount to $1,750 a day that will be deducted from the contractor’s bill when the work is finished.
Snow and freezing temperatures have brought the entire project to a standstill. The unfinished streets are closed to traffic. They cannot be plowed because of their rough condition.
In November, representatives from Lewis and Lewis asked the town council to allow them to shut the job down for winter. They requested LD’s to stop until they returned in the spring.
If the town agreed not to assess liquidated damages while the contractor was away, Caleb Tygum, Lewis and Lewis’ construction manager, promised to make the unpaved roads along Spring Avenue passable for traffic. He said, because the asphalt plant his company uses was closed for the season, recycled pavement could be laid down. The RAP, or recycled asphalt pavement, is made up of the old street layer that was removed by the contractor. Tygum said the town would then be able to plow the roads. If the town chose to uphold the contract, as written, and charge the LD’s throughout the winter, Tygum would have his team keep the roads closed for the season and handle plowing themselves.
During the December 8th town council meeting, the governing body voted to uphold the contract and charge the LD’s until the project was completed. Tygum pulled his workers off the job and left the unpaved street closed.
Despite having left for the season, Lewis and Lewis is still contractually obligated to keep the roads passable to local traffic. Winter snows have made the streets difficult to traverse. During January 3rd’s council meeting, the Chairman of the Impact Joint Powers Board Richard Raymer told the new council members that, with permission from the previous council, he had sent a letter to the contractors explaining their responsibilities.
Saratoga’s streets department, which handles snow removal on the town’s roads, is unable to plow the job site. Raymer said, for liability reasons, the contractor is required to take care of the roads.
Raymer said he had been in contact with Lewis and Lewis’s construction manager and suggested he find a local contractor to handle snow removal. Speaking to the new town council, the Joint Powers Board chairman said Tygum was unaware the roads were impassable.
Councilman Jerry Fluty asked Raymer why the contractor is responsible for plowing the closed sections of Spring Avenue. The JPB chairman said Lewis and Lewis is required to keep the roads open to homes and businesses.
Mayor Chuck Davis expressed concern about the road in front of the fire department being blocked by snow. Raymer said residents also need access to the town hall, the front of which faces Spring Avenue. Having the road unplowed can make it dangerous for people to enter and exit the building. Raymer said, by not amending the contract, the town has protected itself in the event of an accident.
With a price tag of over $2.1 million, the Spring Ave Utility and Street Improvement project is a huge investment for the town. Using a $966,000 SLIB grant, the town needed to replace the water pipes beneath Spring Avenue before failures caused even more damage. The contractor is financially responsible for any problems, such as water main breaks, resulting from its inability to finish the job on time.
Payments to Lewis and Lewis are broken up into 12 monthly installments. Liquidated damages have been held back from the past two payments. As of the writing of this story, LD’s total $94,250. With the clock still running, and the contractor not due back until spring, it is safe to say that amount will be significantly higher by the end of the project.
