Current Projects

Unexpected Costs Have City Reeling

by Michael W. Freeman - Herald News: 2/3/2001

City leaders are hoping to quickly figure out how best to deal with the unexpected additional $23 million cost of the combines sewer overflow project, and the options range from seeking more federal aid to perhaps asking the courts for relief.

"We're certainly going to take a look at what happened in the next week or so to come up with a strategy," said Mayor Edward M. Lambert, Jr. He and Terrence Sullivan, the city's public works director, met on Thursday to discuss the project. They're still looking for answers to determine why the project will cost $23 million more than initially anticipated.

Lambert said on Friday that he expects a report next week from Camp, Dresser and McKee, the Cambridge-based engineering firm hired by the city to design the CSO project. The firm had estimated the construction cost at $76 million, but the three bids for the project came in at a low of $99,057,820, and a high of $101.8 million. The city had used the $76 million figure when crafting the CSO project's total budget of $115 million total budget. "It's pretty non-conclusive so far," Lambert said. "We're just waiting for some final material to come back from CDM.

"The size of these bid packages makes it important to go through each and every one of them, to find out if the increase was across the board or only across certain areas, and what might account for the increase." So far, Lambert said, indications are that the soaring commercial real estate market in Massachusetts helped to inflate prices. "We did get some further information back," Lambert said. "Boston was doing a tunnel project they estimated at $75 million, and upon completion it was $150 million. I think that's a prime factor in this. This is disappointing, but it's not unique." "Our own school (construction) projects have been coming in 25% over estimate," he said. "Every project around the state is coming in 20 to 30% above estimate. Unfortunately we're caught in the same thing."

The question now is how best to proceed. The three bids were for the construction of a three-mile-long, 20-foot-wide sewer tunnel beneath the city. Construction has been set to begin in April, but it's possible the project could be delayed because of the cost factor. The city, though, is under a court order to complete this project. The city was sued by an environmental group, the Conservation Law Foundation, in 1988, because the CSOs were pumping raw sewage into Mount Hope Bay. In 1992, District Court Judge Rya Zobel found the city in violation of the U.S. Clean Water Act and ordered the city to complete the CSO project.

"The problem we have is the overlay of this court order, which specifically says we have a timetable to meet," Lambert said. "That's a concern. We could eventually decide to have discussions with the court about this." Lambert would not say exactly what city lawyers might ask the court to do, saying We probably would not reveal that strategy until it's in place and we've talked to the players involved. We certainly don't want to suggest a strategy and then have them read about it in the paper."

The mayor did note that when he first took office in 1996, the city had been given a four-year deadline for completing the project. The city was able to go back to court and convince Judge Zobel that the timetable was unrealistic. "We were successful five years ago in getting our court order restructured," he said. "We were under a four-year timetable for completion of the entire project. I thought that was entirely unfair. That put Fall River in a very unenviable position."

The city's attorneys sat down with the Conservation Law Foundation and worked out an agreement acceptable on both sides. "As a result of that, we were able to go to court and discuss restructuring the project, lengthening it out to 15 years rather than 4," Lambert said. "We don't want to step on the good graces of the court this time, but this is a significant challenge that's been presented to us with these bids."

Lambert also plans to discuss the issue with Congressman Barney Frank and James P. McGovern. The two Massachusetts Democrats have been instrumental in bringing federal funds to this city and New Bedford for sewer improvement projects. "They've been great, and just this week both Congressman Frank and McGovern held a summit in Boston on what additional funding might be available," Lambert said. "I'm certainly going to talk to them, and state and federal officials, to try to see what additional aid we can get."

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