WSDOT: Leaking pontoons to delay bridge by up to 6 months
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SEATTLE -- The state now admits completion of the new 520 bridge will be delayed by up to six months due to problems with cracks and leaks in the first batch of floating pontoons.
A Problem Solvers investigation first revealed the extent of the problems earlier this fall.
Gov. Chris Gregoire directed the state Department of Transportation to get the new 520 bridge finished by 2014 since there is the risk the current bridge could collapse in the event of a major earthquake or storm. Now, for the first time, WSDOT is saying it won't make that schedule.
WSDOT and contractor Kiewit are still trying to figure out a final fix for the first pontoons built for the Lake Washington bridge.
Divers have identified more than a dozen cracks underneath at least one of the pontoons, and they hope to begin repairs after the first of the year.
But the cracks, in addition to the pontoon construction problems that surfaced last summer in Aberdeen, have slowed the project down.
"Some of the issues that I'll talk about that we experienced this summer are making it a real challenge to complete the work by late 2014," said project manager Julie Meredith.
During a bridge construction update for the state Transportation Commission, WSDOT for the first time acknowledged that the bridge won't be finished by the governor's 2014 deadline.
The governor set the deadline because the current bridge is in such poor shape that the state says it could collapse in the event of either a massive earthquake or even just a severe wind storm. Now the state says the project will be delayed by up to half a year.
"And we're negotiating a schedule that looks at summer of 2015, and that's what we're still in negotiations with our contractor on right now," said Meredith.
A Problem Solver investigation revealed that all six of the first pontoons built in Aberdeen had leaks, and were still leaking in Lake Washington.
Internal WSDOT sources and a former quality inspector all raised questions about the ultimate integrity of the pontoons and ultimately the bridge itself.
"To me it's just a disaster," said one inspector. "It''s a disaster waiting to happen.”
WSDOT says it is still in negotiations with contractor Kiewit as to who will pay for the costs of repairs.
A Problem Solvers investigation first revealed the extent of the problems earlier this fall.
Gov. Chris Gregoire directed the state Department of Transportation to get the new 520 bridge finished by 2014 since there is the risk the current bridge could collapse in the event of a major earthquake or storm. Now, for the first time, WSDOT is saying it won't make that schedule.
WSDOT and contractor Kiewit are still trying to figure out a final fix for the first pontoons built for the Lake Washington bridge.
Divers have identified more than a dozen cracks underneath at least one of the pontoons, and they hope to begin repairs after the first of the year.
But the cracks, in addition to the pontoon construction problems that surfaced last summer in Aberdeen, have slowed the project down.
"Some of the issues that I'll talk about that we experienced this summer are making it a real challenge to complete the work by late 2014," said project manager Julie Meredith.
During a bridge construction update for the state Transportation Commission, WSDOT for the first time acknowledged that the bridge won't be finished by the governor's 2014 deadline.
The governor set the deadline because the current bridge is in such poor shape that the state says it could collapse in the event of either a massive earthquake or even just a severe wind storm. Now the state says the project will be delayed by up to half a year.
"And we're negotiating a schedule that looks at summer of 2015, and that's what we're still in negotiations with our contractor on right now," said Meredith.
A Problem Solver investigation revealed that all six of the first pontoons built in Aberdeen had leaks, and were still leaking in Lake Washington.
Internal WSDOT sources and a former quality inspector all raised questions about the ultimate integrity of the pontoons and ultimately the bridge itself.
"To me it's just a disaster," said one inspector. "It''s a disaster waiting to happen.”
WSDOT says it is still in negotiations with contractor Kiewit as to who will pay for the costs of repairs.
My experience and knowledge of concrete construction is limited and quite specific. In the 1970s, I had friends who were building concrete boats at Pete's Harbor in Redwood City, CA. From their comments, carefully laid out plans, construction and extensive research of a companies to apply the concrete before selecting one, I believe that none of the pontoons for the new 520 bridge are going to be safe enough, or last long enough, for the bridge to survive the number of years that it should.
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Once the concrete cracks and the rebar is subjected to moisture the structure is compromised and begins its own destruction. The rebar rusts and NO AMOUNT of repair can put the genie back into the bottle. Even when covered with new concrete, the rebar continues to rust. As the rust gets worse, it expands on the rebar further cracking the concrete. It is inevitable. The process is ongoing from the first exposure to final sinking.
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I'm with the gentleman who spoke out about the quality control on this evenings presentation. I will never cross the new 520 bridge with a ticking time-bomb for a support. Same goes for the SF-Bay bridge construction.
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I am particularly upset about what this debacle is costing me in real dollars and cents and what it may cost in lives.
what a dam joke there is no debate who should pay and the keyword here is NOT THE WA STATE TAXPAYERS!... KIEWIT you will pay for them as you are NOT DOING YOUR QC properly. KIEWIT I suggest you change your name to DEWITRIGHTTHEFIRSTTIME Construction... because you obviously need your name to inspire confidence in your abilities more than what your finished product seems to indicate! | The built the 520 bridge how logn ago and had little to no leaking... construction should be better five decades later not WORSE... stop being such a cheapskate and can the beer parties!
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But Why? Aren't they safe? MMMMMMMMM
Not to bad for the amount of beer they have been drinking.
Imagine that! WSDOT is negotiating with Kiewit as to who will pay for the cost of repairs! No doubt in my mind who will pay! Us, the tax payers will pick up the bill, just wait and see!
If you ever want to track the root cause of a problem - trace the flow of money. Â It is ALWAYS about the money.
"Contractor makes $90,000 per day's delay"
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A snippet from:
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http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Investigation-uncovers-claims-of-costly-cover-up-on-520-project-175890171.html
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"Then there's the money. Insiders tell the Problem Solvers that late pontoons are costing taxpayers millions. The whole financial deal, with two independent contracts but one primary contractor, seems to favor contractor Kiewit at the expense of taxpayers. . .
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Here's how the pontoon costs got so screwy: Every day Kiewit in Aberdeen is late with pontoons, they owe the state $10,000. But that also makes the pontoons late getting to Lake Washington, and on that contract the state has to pay Kiewit $100,000 a day. So every late day, parent company Kiewit makes an extra $90,000 even though the problems started with Kiewit's other contract in Aberdeen."
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Nice work when you can get it!
 @Dumbfounded883 I just can't believe WSDOT was stupid enough to sign such a contract! un-freakin' believable!
I hate when the State talks about new types of taxes and more toll locations when they suffer from financial hemorrhaging.Â
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If Kiewit is doing anything right, it's exploiting how down right fiscally incompetent our State is at our expense.
Since we just re-elected the same bunch of idiots who caused this (and other) messes, please spare us all the bellyaching. You voted for it, so you are an owner now. Expect more in coming years. Congratulations.
I am an engineer, and though not entirely familiar with the cracks. Â I can guarantee that the rebar has been exposed to salt water. The rebar used on this project was not the epoxy coated rebar they use on highways that is protected from road salts and water. There is no way to repair the damage that has been done to the rebar. So there is no way the pontoons will reach the 75 year design. Since these pontoons cannot and will not meet the design specifications now, they MUST be rejected.
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Glad to hear somebody is finally getting it.
WSDOT project instructions.
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Step 1: Budget the project
Step 2: Start building
Step 3: Go over budget on Time and Money
Step 4-10: Toll/Tax the people
Negotiating with the contractor as to who should pay for the costs?? There should be no question at all! It is the contractor's responsibility; I seriously doubt WSDOT and Kiewit negotiated that the state would be responsible for construction flaws. Damn it, PAULA HAMMOND MUST GO!
And YES! we will be paying for these delays even though it's not our fault. Merry Christmas!
It seems like in a boat building mecca like this part of the world, they ought to be able to build a floatation device that doesn't leak. We are getting laughed at for this one. It could go down in history next to the Big Dig.
 @Elvis They should have used steel. Concrete is a huge mistake for floating structures. Ever wonder why they don't build concrete boats anymore? Because they are not repairable! This project is full of very poor design decisions. From raising the road way above the pontoons, which caused a massive increase in cost due to side stability pontoons required due to the raised center of gravity, to the choice of using concrete instead of steel.  They didn't use marine engineers to design this thing, they used civil engineers. Civil engineers design buildings and roads,marine engineers design ships.
@educated, you might want to stick to dry land engineering. Your comments make it painfully obvious you know very little about floating bridge construction.
Is anyone really surprised by this story? I'm not, I've been following this "fiasco" since the start. It seems to me that it's only getting worse and worse as time goes by. Still in negotiations as to who will pay for the costs of repairs? What is there to negotiate? Nothing! The general contractor is always responsible for the finished product. And Kiewit  seems to be the whole problem. They should not receive a penny from the state until satisfactory completion of the project. Not a penny! As we the taxpayers are getting screwed over by cost overruns, what next? Sheesh! Thank God I don't ever plan on crossing that bridge. I don't believe it will be safe.Good luck to those that do. We need to fire anyone that ever played a part in this mess and replace them with someone who will do it right!
Will someone PLEASE tell Kiewit to get those fricken pontoons out of here.Tow them back to dry dock or out to sea.
Why does it seem so difficult for the goons at Kiewit to admit fault, take responsibility and make things right?  Putting band-aids on the cracks doesn't feel like the correct LONG TERM solution.
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Gov. Chris Gregoire directed the state Department of Transportation to get the new 520 bridge finished by 2014 since there is the risk the current bridge could collapse in the event of a major earthquake or storm.
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She's been using the Nisqually earthquake of 2001 to get this replaced. It's been 11 years, so why the urgency now? Oh, political BS.
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Which idiot in WSDOT reviewed the contract and recommended it for signature that person should be standing in the unemployment line.  Kiewit is responsible for the construction of the pontoons and they should pay, it is not a negotiatble item. This just continues to show that WSDOT is not capable of managing any sort of large project
 @Dhnr From personal experience I doubt if any state agency could successfully manage any large or even small project that takes more than the brain the size of a rat to negotiate a maze for a slice of stale cheese.Â
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I started working for the State Fish & Wildlife as an IT Specialist during 1992 and a large statewide data project had been started by Department of Ecology prior to my arrival and a many times over revamped version of the project with the same goals after millions and millions of dollars spent was still being worked on after I left during 2007. They are still working on it and still do not know what they are doing after all these years and millions of dollars spent. During that time I completed two stop gap databases with a fraction of the costs and both are still being used by Fish & Wildlife and BPA. Go figure on that one.Â
get someone from the outside to go over everything then start locking people up becouse their is corruption somewhere thats what this is called back east
Oh this is only gonna be the beginning. I'm just probably gonna be waiting for the thing to sink in its first major storm after it's done!
Each and every one of those pontoons needs to be ground up for recycled cement. That's all they're good for.Â
In the meantime, Kiewit makes $70,000 for each pontoon that they delay because of bad workmanship. Why is the state allowing this to go on?
Anyone else having an issue trying to post a reply? The button just does not respond.
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 @Bornhere Try refreshing the page. I've had the same problems from time to time with Explorer. When it really doesn't wanna work, that's when I use Chrome. That I never have problems posting with.
Well, didn't see that one coming... <sarcasm>
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Maybe the delay could be used to get a new contractor and new DOT upper management?
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Dear Santa. All I want for Christmas is...
Only a fool would drive on that bridge when it is finished.
Oh...... you wanted them water tight ....... well that will cost you a little more. Look at it this way ......... if they keep sinking ......... eventually we can just drive over the top of them. This is getting sillier than I thought.
I can't believe the state would even consider accepting this garbage from Kiewit. At the very least they should be banned from doing business in this state.
 @Klondiko Kiewit is only the General Contractor, they didn't write the spec books but, they for sure had to follow them. That is why inspectors are there, to insure that the engineers intent, as put forth in the spec book, is followed to a "T". I do however think there might be some value in looking at the concrete supplier and the engineered "design mix" first since it is concrete that is leaking water and I am sure that Kiewit placed the concrete as per specs (with inspectors present) besides, I cant really think of anything you could possibly do to make concrete leak by placing it wrong anyway. Its almost gotta be the concrete causing this.
@T_BONE_WALKER Kiewit has been around for decades. Hard to believe they wouldn't know inferior products when they're using them.
 @JK15 Look, the resident engineer calls the weather and Kiewit does not have the flexibility to use more or less rebar. Come on, there are inspectors watching 24x7 and signing off on rebar and weather.
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Kiewit couldn't even expose itself to the liability you describe if it wanted too and why would they?
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 @Klondiko  @T_BONE_WALKER I could have sworn that there were reports that they did a lot of pouring in poor weather conditions and did not use the proper amount of rebar. If that's the case, than it all falls on Kiewit not the concrete supplier.Â
Who will pay for the lives lost when the bridge sinks.Â
A person wants to build a utility shed on their own property, and the inspectors and compliance people nitpick the living sh!t out of it.Of course, when WADOT is involved there is enough money to grease the palms to take care of any nitpicking.
Used to be that boats were holes in the water that you poured money into. Now it is bridge pontoons. We agree to still pay taxes, why?
how hard can it really be to build a float correctly ? Oh wait greed is involved forgot ~  what a rip off and a bunch of cover your hindend
Who will pay for the repairs should be whomever is responsible for the shoddy workmanship. I'm assumming as per usual the contractor will get even more money from this. He should be made to eat every other expense of this bridge and bring it in on budget and done right. Of course we know this won't happen.
Maybe, just MAYBE.......SOMEONE should be held accountable for wasting taxpayer money, not inspecting the parts BEFORE they went into the project, and blatant incompetence.......from Olympia down.
 @Wolfen wasn't the leaking on these pontoons actually caught during inspection, prior to placement into the bridge? It seems it would be hard to inspect and catch leaking until it was actually "built" and "leaking"
@Wolfen , See my previous post.
"The governor set the deadline because the current bridge is in such poor shape that the state says it could collapse in the event of either a massive earthquake or even just a severe wind storm."
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But the new one will collapse if a bird lands on it...
Sounds like the taxes and tolls will be going up.
Inferior material, inferior workers, (because Queen Christine wanted to add jobs to Grays Harbor), what did you expect?? Grays harbor still has a 13% unemployment rate. Worst in the state!! And she thought she was doing the state a favor.
@SargeMcC Nothing wrong with trying to add jobs in Grays Harbor. Problem is with faulty contractor. Put the blame where it lies.
You can't get qualified workers for this project in Aberdeen/ Hoquiam. That's all I'm saying. People in the area have never had training for this kind of thing. Their industries are lumber and fishing. Oh, and cooking meth.
No problem. I've been on vacation and need to get back to work myself. May a thousand cows wash yours shoes as you sleep. Be safe and watch your step.
 @SargeMcC Your right, I just did not put two and two together. I mistook the word "from Aberdeen" for "in Aberdeen" This could open up into a much more political discussion, but I doubt you or I should spend the time going there. I don't do meth so I really have a hard time spotting someone on it.
I think you don't either -Â but probably have had friends or family take that fall.
I have been a union contractor in Seattle for more than twenty years- if I have a gripe it goes up not down in the hierarchy. You should understand that as per your web name. I'll defend the hands on (worker) people any day and I get peaved when someone classifies a large group of people especially when its bleak.
I don't have any more time to spend here but if you answer back I promise that I will read your words. Take care be safe and may the bird of paradise fly up your nose.
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@thirdparttofcicle, just what I said, couldn't get qualified workers from the area. And you're wrong, I used to live in Hoquiam, for a few years. I got the hell out because of all the methheads. The place is a pit.
 @SargeMcC Who are you to state they can't get qualified workers.
I personally have worked on this project and I can tell you that the workers are top of the line qualified. Fact is that most of them have come from outside the area especially Spokane and California because that is where the rebar and cabling contractors came from and that is why the unemployment rate is higher than other places in WA. It's very demeaning of you to claim Meth, you probably don't even live in this state lol.Â
All of the rebar, concrete and placing specs were followed at least to industry standards. Its the college educated engineers that have dropped the ball there was not enough rebar so when the cables are stressed there was structural failure and the engineering firm should be held accountable.
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