Work to finally complete SC 170 begins Monday
The first pavement repairs needed to finish the fledgling S.C. 170 improvement project begin Monday.
Then contractors must pave an additional inch of asphalt over the entire project to meet S.C. Department of Transportation standards.
The $15 million project is already more than a year past its original completion date, but local officials say all four lanes of the expanded highway between S.C. 46 and U.S. 278 will be open by the end of the month.
Final paving, sealing and striping, however, will require intermittent nightly lane closures throughout August and September — putting the final project completion date more than 26 months overdue, deputy Beaufort County administrator Josh Gruber said last week.
The work beginning Monday ends three weeks of negotiations between the county and contractor Cleland Site Prep about how to finish the project after the county fired Cleland from the job last month for the delays.
Cleland has not been removed from the project entirely, though.
Instead, Cleland’s bonding company, Berkley Surety Group, has taken over project management, Gruber and Cleland president Avery Cleland said. State law requires all projects over $50,000 be insured by a surety company to guarantee all projects are completed in the event the contractor defaults or is removed, Gruber said.
In this case, though, Berkley Surety Group has chosen to keep Cleland as a subcontractor to help manage the slew of companies working on the project and oversee final paving by Preferred Materials Inc., Cleland and Gruber said.
“We’ve got a schedule that is all laid out with the surety as to what will happen and when, so we’re not worried,” Gruber said. “It’s the surety company’s decision, and they believe keeping Cleland on is advantageous. Our first and foremost priority is just getting the project done.”
Last week, the county issued an $80,000 change order to the surety company for the pavement repairs, Cleland said. Another $800,000 change order for the additional inch of asphalt on the highway will be issued this week, Gruber added.
Even with those additional costs, the project should be on budget and any overages will be covered by Berkley Surety Group, Gruber said.
“There’s no pressure on us; we’re still doing the same thing we were doing,” Cleland said. “Our guys are communicating with the county’s people every day, just like we were.”
Once the project is finally complete, however, Cleland and the county appear poised to settle their disputes about the contract in court.
Cleland has threated to sue the county over its intent to withhold liquidated damages for the delays. The county has not calculated how much in penalties it plans to assess, but the contract for the project stipulates that damages will at least include $1,800 per day the construction is past due, Gruber said.
Cleland maintains the longest delays were the result of county redesigns and permitting errors. County leaders dispute his claims and argue Cleland refused to move forward with work in a timely manner.
“It’s the most ludicrous thing I’ve ever seen,” Cleland said. “As soon as this job gets done and we sit down and provide the information that shows we’ve been held up too many times, too many ways by the county redesigns, changes, et cetera, we won’t pay any liquidated damages. If anything we should sue them for damages ... It’s too blatant what they’ve done.”
Follow reporter Zach Murdock on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Zach and on Facebook at facebook.com/IPBGZach.
Related content:
- Officials promise to finish SC 170 project this summer, despite county vs. Cleland fight , June 17, 2015
- County fires Cleland Site Prep from long-delayed SC 170 project , June 16, 2015
- Recent rains lead to flooding on newly widened SC 170 , June 3, 2015
- SC 170 project limps past another deadline; June completion expected , April 24, 2015
This story was originally published July 5, 2015 at 5:06 PM with the headline "Work to finally complete SC 170 begins Monday."