June 20, 2023 |
Photo – Spring Avenue Bore Pit – Bigfoot99 file photo
In Saratoga, the Spring Avenue Utility and Street Improvement Project is close to being finalized.
During the June 6th Saratoga town council meeting, Mayor Chuck Davis said the Spring Ave project is nearly finished. Mayor Davis said T-O Engineers, the engineering firm hired by the town to oversee the project, is mostly satisfied with the job.
Speaking to Bigfoot99, Mayor Davis said he didn’t know what the final item T-O Engineers wanted fixed was, but he said it was very minor and already repaired. The mayor said the town is waiting a month-and-a-half to ensure nothing goes wrong before signing off on the project.
The project began in August of 2022, and was supposed to be finished last October. Lewis and Lewis, the contractor handling the job, ran into numerous delays causing the project to continue well past the original completion date.
Financial penalties, called Liquidated Damages, were included in the contract to protect the town. The agreed up financial amount was subtracted from the contractor’s final payment for every day the job went past the completion date. When it became clear winter would shut the project down, representatives from Lewis and Lewis asked the town to pause the liquidated damages until they could return in the spring. The town council voted to continue the fines, totaling $1,750 a day, until the job was finished. Lewis and Lewis left the job in December and returned in late March.
The final cost of the water main replacement and street paving project was $2,105,653 even. The town collected $94,250 in liquidated damages from Lewis and Lewis. Mayor Davis said the town will use the liquated damages to pay for additional inspections performed by the engineering firm and work town employees did while the contractor was away for the winter. The mayor said the town will return whatever is left.
The 45-day countdown began the day the town accepted substantial completion. When he spoke to Bigfoot99, Mayor Davis said he didn’t know the specific day substantial completion was accepted. The town has a one-year warranty on all work done by the contractor.
