TACOMA – The main contractor on the new Tacoma Narrows bridge has been spared $2 million in penalties for missing a deadline by state transportation officials who blamed the delay on severe weather.
Severe fall and winter storms triggered a “force majeure” clause that exempts Tacoma Narrows Constructors from penalties for delays caused by circumstances such as labor strikes and natural disasters, Transportation Department project manager Jeff Carpenter said Thursday.
“The rain in November was far and away worse than what we usually experience, both in terms of frequency and severity, Carpenter said. “In December there was the major windstorm, which also was beyond what could be considered reasonable.”
Meanwhile, another hang-up developed Thursday in the long-delayed delivery of a massive expansion joint for the new span when the Washington State Patrol decided that trailers for hauling the 73-foot steel and neoprene component didn’t have enough brakes.
Big Boat Movers of Zavalla, Texas, was arranging for other equipment to haul the critical 100-ton component, but because the 22-axle, two-lane rig is limited to weekend travel, it couldn’t begin moving westward from Spokane before next Friday.
After missing a completion deadline Monday, the bridge contractor requested a 26-day extension and the Transportation Department granted 16, Carpenter said.
“We went back and forth with them on the number of days, and we feel we came up with what we feel is a mutually agreeable period,” he said.
Time was money in the negotiations, and much bigger delays – and potential penalties – are looming.
Under the contract, the company is liable for $12,500 a day in damages for the first 90 days the project is late and then $125,000 a day up to a maximum of $45 million.
Officials say the bridge won’t be finished before August.
State Sen. Mike Carrell, R-Lakewood, said the settlement was unwarranted because, he asserted, the contractor was four months behind schedule before the storms. Had a deck-lifting operation been completed on time, Carrell said, the bad weather would have had less impact.
“Everybody knows what its like around here in October, November and December,” Carrell said. “December and January are the highest rainfall times of the year.
“We need to be fair with contractors and follow the contract,” he said, “and I think the contractor needs to do the same. They need to take up the delay with their subcontractors rather than the taxpayers in the state of Washington. They (taxpayers) shouldn’t be left holding bag for this.”
The brake problem was the latest to stall delivery of the first of two expansion joints for the parallel span on Highway 16 between Tacoma and Gig Harbor. The second has been parked in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Assembled in Minnesota, the component was hauled across five states before being stopped March 24 after entering the state from Idaho after state troopers found the 165-foot, single-lane rig failed to meet Washington state’s tougher load distribution requirements.
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