MORGANTOWN — Approximately $230,000 in penalties have been levied against the contractor working on I-79 between the Star City exit and the state line.
This according to the West Virginia Division of Highways, which says work on the stretch of interstate that began nearly 18 months ago — March 5, 2018 — could be completed as early as today (Friday, Aug. 23).
The road was again reduced to one lane in recent days as crews addressed issues with previously completed work.
“We are profiling and repairing approaches that did not meet our ride specifications,” DOH Spokesman Brent Walker said. “Basically, the original work that was completed was not smooth enough, so the contractor had to make corrections.”
Walker explained that the original scope of work included a reconstruction of the interstate with a nine-year warranty.
The project had an original completion date of Dec. 31, 2018. The state declared it “substantially complete” on Jan. 8, 2019, meaning the work and safety measures were largely complete, in place and functioning.
A short time later, issues arose with the bridge approaches, triggering the latest round of lane closures.
According to Walker, penalties assessed thus far total about $8,280 daily, broken down into $5,000 daily lane rental and $3,280 daily in liquidated damages, as stipulated in contract documents.
“It’s incredibly frustrating to the commission that this should have been completed almost a year ago,” Monongalia County Commission President Tom Bloom said, adding “But it seems like even when we get something done here, it’s second-class work. They said this was to be guaranteed for nine years? Well, they couldn’t guarantee it for three months.”
Bloom went on to say that any money collected in penalties should stay here.
“It just seems like there’s something wrong with this entire process,” he said. “I’m glad they were fined, but I want to know where that $230,000 is now going to be used in Monongalia County to address all the issues we have here. That’s what I’d like to know.”
The original bid amount for the project was $16,639,333.75. That number has been adjusted to $16,894,660.22 to accommodate for unplanned guardrail upgrades, Walker said.
Bear Contracting, of Bridgeport, is the DOH contractor for the project.
