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Just when it seemed the Indian River bridge project was finally moving forward, controversy has erupted over the bidding process to construct the $130 million structure over the inlet. And the bid has not even officially been awarded.
Darrel Cole, director of Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) public relations, said the bidding process is under review by the governor’s office.
State labor officials are questioning the bidding process, and the possibility of legal action looms.
Union officials said the awarding of the apparent winning bid to the team of PCL Civil Contractors Inc. and Buckland & Taylor Inc. of Tampa, Fla., is questionable, Bridge
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based on a point system used to evaluate the bid. They also say the company will not use Delaware workers.
They claim another construction-design team, Kiewit & Bilfinger-Berger, based in Omaha, Neb., should be awarded the bid based on its low bid of $124.1 million, which is $800,000 less than the total of $124.9 in the bid package presented by PCL.
Union officials claim Kiewit has promised to hire Delaware union workers. An estimated 400 to 500 jobs will be created during the multi-year project. Based on a state-contract point system, PCL is the apparent winning bidder with 96.87 points; Kiewit finished the process with 93.12 points.
David Walsh, executive director of AFL-CIO’s Delaware Building and Construction Trades Council, said the apparent winning bidder would import workers from out of state. “That’s what they have said they would do,” he said.
“We have about 1,000 tradesmen here in Delaware who are out of work, and we would love to put those people to work.”
Walsh said Kiewit officials appealed DelDOT’s decision, which prompted an internal review and an additional review by the governor’s office. He said any legal action would have to be pursued by the company in Chancery Court, not by the union.
The PCL official in charge of the project, Jerry Harder, was unavailable for comment.
Cole said the Indian River Bridge project is unique as a design-build contract, and it is also by far the most expensive contract in DelDOT’s history.
The design-build concept allows the process to move faster and also allows construction firms to submit their own bridge designs, based on criteria supplied by DelDOT, Cole said. “The bid hinged on two factors – technical/design and monetary, which could not exceed $130 million,” he said. “Technical and design actually were worth more because we wanted a good design to last 100 years.” Of the three companies bidding on the project, the apparent low-bidding team, PCL, finished with the highest technical score and the second-highest bid.
The Keiwit team finished with the lowest technical score and the lowest bid. The third company exceeded the bid price with a cost of $152 million, Cole said.
“We think it’s a flawed process,” said Walsh. “It’s not a case of the union crying foul because we didn’t get the job, it’s because we don’t think the process being used was fair and in the best interest of the people of the state.” Walsh said Keiwit is one of the largest and most respected contracting companies in North America with an impeccable safety record. “Yet they received unfavorable safety scores from one scorer,” he said. “And there was no consideration – no points - given for hiring Delaware workers.”
Walsh said he feels if a point system is used, companies hiring state workers on state jobs should be rewarded. Cole said, by law, transportation officials cannot ask what kind of labor will be used when awarding a contract, only that contractors pay prevailing wages. Sen. George Bunting, D-Bethany Beach, has found himself in the middle of a struggle over who will do work on the bridge. He said several union members and officials have contacted him expressing their concern that the bridge should be built by union workers. Bunting said it appears state guidelines were followed and the bid should be awarded to the apparent low bidder.
“I understand that labor is very upset, but the state can’t award a preferred bid,” he said.
Bunting said contrary to public opinion, bids are not always awarded to the low bidder based on cost alone, but are awarded on a point system. He said the state moved away from automatically awarding projects to low bidders based on cost a few years ago.
And to Bunting, it may not make that much difference which company gets the bid. Bridge building requires many specialized skills, which are held by union workers in the state.
“We would hope the company would hire as many union workers as possible because that is the pool they will have to select from,” he said. Bunting said time is of extreme importance.
A 2005 report released to the Delaware General Assembly gave the current bridge a three- to five-year lifespan. Tidal action is deepening the inlet and undermining the bridge’s supports, exposing them to saltwater corrosion. The new bridge supports will not be placed underwater. The new 1,000-foot span will also provide 10 more feet of navigational clearance to 45 feet. “This is not about politics and not about the bid, but a safety issue,” he said.
Bunting said if the matter ends up in court and the project is delayed, there is no guarantee the September 2010 deadline can be met. “If the bridge was deemed unsafe because of structural problems, and it was closed, it would mean the closure of the economic and safety lifeline for the whole area,” he said.
He said from the south side of the bridge ambulances and paramedics would have to be rerouted to Atlantic General Hospital in Berlin, Md., and Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury, Md., instead of going to Beebe Medical Center in Lewes.
The detour would add 45 minutes or more to travel time in areas along Route 1 serviced by the bridge. “The public wants us to move forward with this project,” he said. “It’s about jobs, but it’s also about power. Labor knew going in that bids are awarded by a point system and no preferential treatment is given.”
DelDOT officials are hopeful that the official announcement of the bid awarding can be made within two weeks.
Work on roadway approaches separate from bridge construction began in 2005 and was completed in February. The 51-foot approaches on the south and north sides of the inlet are complete and will be allowed to settle. A drainage system and concrete wall facing is yet to be constructed.
Contact Ron MacArthur at ronm@capegazette.com
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