|
A grossly low estimation of supplies by an engineering firm has forced the Town of Dewey Beach to ship additional state funds down Rehoboth Bay. The money will dock at the end of Read Avenue, where workers are building stone barriers to slow erosion and are putting in larger pipes to speed up the draining process.
The council voted unanimously at its Oct. 20 meeting to allocate an additional $40,000 for materials for the Read Avenue project. The money comes from an annual state grant for road improvements because most of the town’s roads are owned by the state.
At the outset of the project, Vollmer Associates, a New York firm with offices in Wilmington, estimated stone barriers and drainage work would total $50,000 to $60,000. But the town has now approved spending $40,000 on materials alone.
“They messed this up from the beginning,” Elliott said of Vollmer. Representatives from Vollmer could not be reached for comment.
The original bid by Vollmer Associates has swelled to more than $240,000, said Town Manager Gordon Elliott. He said the town has received $90,000 in grants to ease the burden. The majority of the money will go towards stone to build a barrier between Rehoboth Bay and Read Avenue. Elliott said an additional 194 tons of stone are needed on top of the 75 tons that Vollmer originally estimated.
At $180 per ton, the extra stone will cost nearly $35,000. The price per ton includes all labor, machine rentals and additional expenses. Vollmer Associates won the job in 2005, but construction did not begin until last month. With $65,000 in grant money at the town’s disposal in 2005, it looked as if Read Avenue would be an affordable project.
The gap between bidding and construction allowed expenses to balloon, as that period of time coincided with Hurricane Katrina. Commissioner Dale Cooke explained that the supply and demand for construction materials in coastal communities skyrocketed since Katrina. Cooke said it would be too expensive to start over with another company, so spending the extra money is a necessary evil.
“I’m embarrassed we’ve had to come back to the town [for approval],” Cooke said at the Oct. 20 meeting. “But we have no other choice.”
Vollmer recommended Bear-based Guardian Construction to do the work. The actual construction of the project was going smoothly until Mother Nature interfered recently.
“The biggest delay was when the tides came up and over the roadway,” Elliott said. “We lost a couple weeks right there.”
Larger pipes have already been installed to drain water into the bay faster. Elliott said Read Avenue drained at a quicker pace than the other roads around it when the tides flowed into residential areas.
Despite the headaches associated with the Read Avenue project, Elliott sees a silver lining.
“It’s given me some experience for Bayard Avenue,” Elliott said. “That’s the next project.”
Contact Eddie Phillipps at eddiep@capegazette.com
|
