9/8/2009
Lawmaker urges DelDOT to explain bridge error

DEWEY BEACH -- As state officials were celebrating the turnaround in construction at the Indian River Inlet Bridge, at least one state lawmaker was asking what went wrong with the project in the first place.

Rep. Gregory F. Lavelle, R- Sharpley, sent a letter to state Transportation Secretary Carolann Wicks asking about the status of the state's investigation into problems in the earlier phases of construction -- problems that back in 2007 were estimated to be a multimillion-dollar setback for the bridge's construction.

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

State officials hired a consultant with both legal and engineering expertise to review the data and determine why massive amounts of fill dirt placed on the new bridge site began to shift and slip. In addition, questions still remain as to why the soil compaction time was estimated to take so much longer than earlier estimates.

The review, which started more than a year ago, is still under way, according to Darrel Cole, a DelDOT spokesman.

"It's very technical," he said. "We want to make sure everything is in order."

The contract was abandoned, re-advertised and redesigned. The new bridge is expected to be completed in the spring of 2011.

Back in the fall of 2007, when problems with the bridge approaches came to light, Wicks estimated that the earlier design and construction had cost the state about $20 million. She later explained to state lawmakers that the materials and construction of the bridge approaches -- the areas where settling and shifting were problems -- cost an estimated $8 million and the value of the fill that needed to be removed was $6 million.

Recently, state officials, including Delaware's congressional delegation, estimated the cost of the bridge project at $230 million, with $180 million of that coming from federal funds.

Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., said state transportation officials deserve credit for "resurrecting something that was very troubled before."

And state Rep. Gerald Hocker, R-Ocean View, said it was terrible in the days after the soil problems were disclosed. Hocker, who owns two grocery stores in his district, said, "I couldn't even walk up and down the aisles without somebody making a negative comment."

But as work has progressed on the new bridge design, Hocker said, he isn't hearing negative comments.

Still, Lavelle said, he believes it's time to see the results of the state's investigation.

"We lost a lot of dimes on that project," he said.

The existing bridge, built in 1965, has support pilings in Indian River Inlet. Over time, swift currents through the inlet have caused deep holes to form around the pilings. Large rocks were placed around the pilings to slow the erosion, and they're routinely monitored for problems.

It was concluded that the long-term solution is to get the bridge support pilings out of the inlet by building a new bridge.

The new bridge design calls for a 2,600-foot-long bridge with a 900-foot span across the inlet. It will be supported by cables in a design similar to the Roth Bridge over the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal.

Once the new bridge is complete, the old bridge will be demolished.

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