Hits: 39

DELAYED UNTIL DECEMBER- BOLTS DEFECTIVE. The New Oakland Bay Bridge will not open due to defective safety bolts.

WPCNR TAPPAN ZEE BRIDGE NEWS. By John F. Bailey July 8, 2013:

The new Oakland Bay Bridge, the model project that New York State touted as one of the reasons they chose Tappan Zee Constructors ( a consortium of American Bridge Company, Fluor Corporation, and Granite Construction) to build the New Tappan Zee Bridge will not open until December due to cracks in the new bridge safety bolts selected by American Bridge and Fluor.The California Toll Bridge Program announced the delay  in an official report Monday.

It is expected to take until December 10 to repair the cracks.

American Bridge and Fluor, are starting on the new New York Tappan Zee Bridge. A press release just yesterday touted the bridge beginning.

In the official report of the Tappan Zee Bridge Selection Committee who went with American Bridge and Fluor the committee wrote, in selecting Tappan Zee Bridge Constructors,  on page nine of the “Blue Ribbon Selection Committee Report::

“Past project experience is more directly relevant to this type of construction,” (their only reference to American Bridge Company and Fluor Corporation “experience.”)

The Blue Ribbon Selection Committee picked American Bridge Company, Fluor and Granite by this process, as described in the Executive Summary:

The BRSC took the following steps in its best-value assessment:

Conducted an in-depth trade-off of technical quality and price, comparing the relative technical and cost advantages of the original proposals as explained by clarifications received in Communications and Discussions with the proposers;

Determined whether the higher-priced proposal offered sufficient quality advantages over lower-priced proposals to justify the price difference;

Reached a decision on which proposal provides the best value;

Documented a justification of the selection; and

In addition, the BRSC separately considered whether the potential enhancements identified by each proposer during Discussions might affect the best-value decision.

Considering both the value added to each proposal based upon the potential changes and the financial impact (if any) of such changes, Niagara (Tappan Zee Constructors) was still also considered to be the best-value proposer.

The Blue Ribbon Selection Committee did not talk over how the new Oakland Bay Bridge Project has been going with the California Department of Transportation

WPCNR was informed by the California Department of Transportation spokesman Mark Dinger on July 1st  that CALTRANS had no record of  any correspondence “that would document any official contact” with the New York Tappan Zee Selection Committee ever contacting CALTRANS about the American Bridge Company and Fluor performance on the new Oakland Bay Bridge.

The spokesman for the New Oakland Bay Bridge, Andrew Gordon speaking to WPCNR in a telephone call last week also reported he has not had any contact with anyone connected with the New Tappan Zee Bridge  Selection Committee in either phone calls or correspondence. He also recalled no representatives from that Committee or anyone from the Thruway taking a tour of the Oakland Bay Bridge in progress.

To see the complete Associated Press story on the delay, go to http://news.yahoo.com/bay-bridge-opening-delayed-until-least-december-183331615.html;_ylt=AhW5TIL6GiCZGvuG9G5NQIAJVux_;_ylu=X3oDMTJhbmtrdHVxBG1pdANBVFQgMyBTdG9yeSBKdW1ib3Ryb24gSG9tZSBDYWNoZWQEcG9zAzM2BHNlYwNNZWRpYUF0dFdpZGdldHJvbkFzc2VtYmx5;_ylg=X3oDMTFkcW51ZGliBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3BtaA–;_ylv=3