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Sep 8, 2008 10:46 pm US/Central
Good Question: When Is The 35W Bridge Really Done?
(WCCO)
Months ahead of schedule, construction crews building a new Interstate 35W bridge across the Mississippi River have said they are almost done. But what constitutes "done" and who decides when done is done?
"Ultimately it does come down to me," said Jon Chiglo, I-35W bridge project manager for the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Although he said it's a group decision made among all the inspectors and managers for the project.
Chiglo said the key determination is a threshold called "substantial completion."
"All work that would impact traffic has to be completed on this job," said Chiglo, who added that MnDOT does not want to open the bridge to traffic and then have to shut down a lane to mop-up some unfinished work.
"Once we open it to traffic, we want to walk away, and do work that does not impact traffic," he said.
Chiglo said that on most projects there is some back-and-forth between MnDOT and the contractor, as the two often have different ideas on what constitutes "substantial completion."
"There's a series of steps that we go through. The final step is called a punch list, and that punch list is really the clean up list, it's really the housekeeping list," said Chiglo, comparing the closing of the bridge project to the closing of a house purchase.
The contractor, Flatiron Construction, and MnDOT are in daily communication about what is completed and what still needs to be done.
"There's a continuous list for each activity that's ongoing, what has to be done first before that activity can be complete, finalized," said Chiglo.
Page 82 of book one in the contract between MnDOT and Flatiron lays out procedures for completing the project. Among the requirements, Flatiron needs to notify MnDOT, in writing, that it has substantially completed all work on the bridge.
So what remains to be completed? On a visit to the bridge deck on Monday, crews were still working on grinding down much of the road surface. There also was significant painting going on with several crews painting the bridge a snowy white color.
"If they can be done, with some minor painting and not impact traffic, we have to be reasonable with that," said Chiglo.
Crews were also pouring concrete for road medians from the bridge to Washington Avenue and the area between the concrete walls need to be filled in. Also, expansion joints on the end of the bridge were being installed.
Landscaping is still ongoing, not just for the appearance of the project, but also to limit soil erosion into the Mississippi River. Plus, MnDOT still wants to test out some of the more high-tech components of the bridge, such as the automatic de-icing system and the smart technology which tracks how the bridge handles various weights.
Flatiron has a significant financial incentive to complete the bridge by Monday, Sept. 15. That would allow the company to achieve the maximum bonus set up by the contract, a total of $20 million for being done 100 days early. The bonus is computed in 10-day increments, so if the bridge is not ready by Monday, Flatiron would lose $2 million.
According to Chiglo, if Flatiron notifies them that they'll be done on Monday, "If we agree, it would be open very shortly after that. It's something we can put together pretty quickly."
Chiglo stressed that if the bridge is deemed done enough to open to traffic, that doesn't mean that work would entirely stop; just work that would impact traffic must be completed.
Contracts are already in place to adjust the detour signage throughout the Twin Cities. Chiglo expects there will be a small ceremony to commemorate the opening of the bridge, although because of safety and logistical concerns, the location and details are still being worked out.
Asked if he'd rather just open the bridge to traffic under cloak of darkness and in the absence of hoopla, Chiglo laughed and said, "It would be neat. And I can tell you from that point on I'd take a vacation."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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