Published Sunday, January 5, 2003
By Larissa Theodore
Herald Staff Writer
Mercer County was hoping to receive a plan from Oakland Avenue Viaduct contractors on how and when work on the bridge would be complete.
Instead, on Thursday morning a construction management firm on behalf of Carmen Paliotta Contracting of South Park, Pa. submitted a "concept proposal," which outlined solutions on how to gather those involved to discuss the problem, said Mercer County Commissioner Cloyd E. "Gene" Brenneman.
"It wasn't a solution," Brenneman said Saturday. "It's been very frustrating."
The county halted work on the viaduct Nov. 2, 2001 after county bridge officials discovered steel pedestals that support the bridge are out of alignment by as much as 3 inches in some places.
The viaduct spans U.S. Route 62, also known as Connelly Boulevard, in Sharon.
County Commissioner Kenneth Seamans called the situation a "terrible mess."
"It gets old after awhile. People look at us like we're the culprits, but we can't build the bridge ourselves. It really pinches the nerves," Seamans said.
Paliotta submitted a proposal in November on ways it could correct the bridge's misalignment problem and both the county and PennDOT accepted it.
But Brenneman said the plans the construction firm submitted didn't include when and how it planned to fix the bridge. Neither did the "concept proposal" offered Thursday by contractors, he said.
"Enough is enough," Brenneman said. "We have to get this resolved."
Contractors are now under a 55-day deadline to complete work on the viaduct or face a $650 per day penalty. That clock started ticking Jan. 1 after the county lifted a contract suspension imposed in November 2001.
A meeting date has yet to be set for the involved parties, which includes commissioners, contractors, state inspectors and county Bridge Engineer Mark Miller, Brenneman said.
The old viaduct was imploded June 23, 2001 and its replacement was slated to be finished by Nov. 30, 2001. Federal funds are paying for 80 percent of the $3.5 million project. State funds will pay the other 20 percent.
Sharon Mayor David O. Ryan said with rust and other problems setting in, the project could cost more now than it did two years ago.
"I think they ought to get the job done," Ryan said.
"It should have been done a year ago. It's an inconvenience for everybody that lives on the south side of State Street."
Ryan said he is in full agreement with commissioners and hopes the threat of penalties will get the project moving.
"Surely, we're not going to go too much longer without the bridge being reopened to the public," Ryan said.
You can email Staff Writer Larissa Theodore at ltheodore@sharonherald.com