9/8/2009
Bridge errors: Hold someone accountable - The News Journal

"The silence on it is kind of deafening. It was a major screw-up."

That's how state Rep. Gregory Lavelle, R-Sharpley, described the serious financial obligation DelDOT assumed when the new Indian River Inlet Bridge approaches had to be rebuilt because of engineering miscalculations.

Meanwhile, officials from DelDOT have been celebrating the recent turnaround at the construction site on the north and south approaches to the new bridge. After spending millions of dollars -- some estimates put it as high as $14 million -- for reconstructing the highway approaches, the new ones are close to completion and that's commendable.

But while Rep. Lavelle may want to make some political points out of questioning what went wrong, he's correct to keep the pressure on DelDOT officials to come forward with a conclusion and a solution on how to keep it from happening again.

There are engineering firms, contractors and surveyors who all had a hand in what turned out as faulty construction of the roadway approaches because the fill dirt settled incorrectly, threatening the stability of the planned structure. At least it was found early.

When the problems first surfaced two years ago, there were calls for investigations and possible lawsuits against those responsible. At the very least, the state should put claims against the bonding money that had to be escrowed for the project.

The spokesman for DelDOT said the investigation is continuing and Secretary Carolann Wicks still intends to make public the results. We certainly hope so.

We also hope people like Rep. Lavelle keep pressure on for the state to recoup its money for this mistake that DelDOT engineers -- apparently -- had nothing to do with.

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