Allegany County Public Works Superintendent Justin Henry gave an update on the Madison Street Bridge
By Andrew Harris, photo Michael T. Baldwin
A major village of Wellsville bridge was slated for replacement this year, and now it isn’t. Why, seems to be a matter of a cancelled contract with a construction company who bid the lowest price. This is the accounting from the public meeting on the subject:
“After the project was awarded to the low bidder Twin Tier Constructors last year, some issues with the design of the new abutment system came to light. After lengthy discussions with the design consultant Barton & Loguidice and Federal/NYSDOT representatives, it has been deemed necessary to cancel the construction contract with Twin Tier Constructors. This action will allow Barton & Loguidice to redesign portions of the abutment system to meet NYSDOT standards and ensure that the project meets all requirements for the bid award, and necessary federal/state funds.”
It appears that despite cancelling that contract and essentially starting over, the taxpayer burden won’t increase. Henry did acknowledge that the timeline now would have to be pushed back to 2023:
“The good news is the essential changes that need to be made do not appear to raise the initial estimated cost to complete this project. Therefore, the previously approved funding levels should be sufficient to complete the project. Unfortunately, this action will delay the project for another construction season. Barton & Loguidice is anticipating having the design documents corrected and ready to go back out to bid this Fall so that the bridge replacement can occur in 2023.”
