CLEARWATER - Leading up to last Thursday's unveiling of an agreement between Florida DOT and PCL Civil Constructors that paves a solution to Clearwater's troubled Memorial Causeway Bridge project, PCL's Vice President Jerry Harder said, "There's a bit of good news in this for everyone"; he appears to have been right.
FDOT District 7 Secretary Ken Hartmann explained to the City Council during their August 5 meeting that the agreement had just been finalized that morning, satisfying FDOT's earlier directive to remove and replace the cracked columns supporting the nearly complete bridge superstructure. The agreement will have traffic on the new span by September 2005 at no additional cost to FDOT or the City.
The agreement also eliminates a great deal of financial uncertainty for Clearwater taxpayers. The City Commission had accepted responsibility for any project cost overruns, including the cost of any litigation. For their part, PCL has agreed to waive any issues or claims arising from the project through the date of the agreement, August 5.
Hartman described the structural solution to the four cracked columns as the "Twin Pier" concept. A two-piece shell will be constructed around the existing piers, which can then be removed while allowing the bridge superstructure to remain in place. This solution shaves nearly one year off the alternative that would have demolished the existing piers and the superstructure they support, saving PCL millions of dollars in construction and demolition costs.
The Twin Piers will have both aesthetic and structural benefit. Their outer surfaces will match the shape of the approach piers, preserving the appearance of the bridge's award-winning design. They will also be stronger than the original piers, and provide a degree of redundancy by spreading the load over two supporting structures.
But the most important benefit of the Twin Pier structure is the preservation of the cracked footing of Pier 6R, whose replacement would have required demolition of the superstructure above. The Twin Piers' placement on the footing provides a direct load path to the undamaged foundations, allowing the footing to be sealed with epoxy for durability rather than be replaced.
While the agreement is favorable for FDOT and the City of Clearwater, there are also terms that benefit the contractor. PCL had estimated the cost of complying with FDOT's remove and replace directive at $25 million. The Twin Pier concept and agreement not only reduce the cost of construction, but also relieve PCL from paying liquidated damages to FDOT exceeding $15,000 per day. The new agreement requires PCL to reimburse FDOT only $1500 per day for its administrative costs during the extended construction period. Harder estimated the agreement's financial benefit to PCL at over $15 million.
One aspect of the Memorial Causeway Bridge project not addressed by the new agreement is the maintenance of traffic during the extended construction period. But Clearwater Vice Mayor Frank Hibbard's appetite for a traffic solution has not been diminished by the accelerated construction schedule. He intends to pursue a reconfiguration of downtown streets in September after traffic data have been collected by Clearwater's Engineering Department.