The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has reached an agreement with the contractor responsible for the Liberty Bridge fire that will offset monetary damages assessed for the time the bridge had to be closed after the blaze.
Joseph B. Fay Co. will make adjustments and speed up some phases of the work as it continues the $80 million bridge rehabilitation it was in the midst of when the fire occurred Sept. 2, 2016, said Jim Foringer, acting district executive for the PennDOT district that covers Pittsburgh.
“This was a way for us to reduce the impact to the motorists this year,” Mr. Foringer said. “We recovered the time that the motorists were impacted last year with this closure with reduced times this year.”
PennDOT assessed the damages based on times that the bridge had to be closed, Mr. Foringer said. Closing or limiting access to the bridge cost different amounts of money depending on the time of day the closures occurred.
PennDOT on Friday could not provide the costs for closures at specific times, but the overall liquidated damages were assessed at $3,033,200.
Mr. Foringer said Fay will speed up certain phases of the project by keeping workers for overtime and double shifts. The completion date for the entire project remains mid-summer 2018.
Mr. Foringer also said Fay will find other ways to lessen the impact on traffic. For example, Fay planned to restrict traffic on the bridge to one lane in each direction for two weeks this summer. Instead, the contractor will find another way to do the same work without restricting traffic.
In addition to the liquidated damages, PennDOT will also deduct from its payment to Fay more than $500,000, which includes the cost of emergency management as a result of the fire.
The contractor will also pay for the 16-member team of national experts brought in to assess, monitor and design the repairs, Mr. Foringer said. He could not provide that dollar figure Friday night.
In a statement, Fay said it will continue to work with PennDOT to limit the impact the project has on motorists.
“Regarding the Liberty Bridge project, Fay and PennDOT continue cooperative efforts to open the bridge earlier than originally planned to further minimize the impacts to the traveling public,” the statement said. “Fay has willingly absorbed additional costs to successfully fulfill this objective. Finishing this project early helps our company heal from the financial and emotional impact that resulted from this unfortunate incident. Fay worked hand in hand with PennDOT throughout the entire process to provide the best solution to complete the project.”
Andrew Goldstein: agoldstein@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1352.
First Published: July 8, 2017, 4:05 a.m.
