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JENNIFER FARRELLPCL Civil Constructors says unidentified engineers outside the company are at fault in the Memorial Causeway project.
CLEARWATER - The Canadian contractor building the new Memorial Causeway bridge says the string of problems on the $69-million state project is not its fault.
In its first extensive defense of work on the flawed bridge, PCL Civil Constructors blamed the significant structural errors on engineering mistakes, either by consultants it hired to design the project or those who detailed steps for construction.
"We worked together," PCL vice president Jerry Harder said Friday. "Unfortunately, the work that they did as part of our team just didn't cut it."
PCL's explanation comes after a litany of blunders, including cracks in six of the bridge's 16 concrete support columns and severe scaffolding failures that damaged two separate spans.
The state Department of Transportation has said it may order parts of the bridge to be torn down and rebuilt - an option so far resisted by PCL, which would pay for the fix.
The DOT has stopped most work on the project, which is already behind schedule. The agency has demanded a comprehensive analysis of the bridge's design and structural integrity before any repairs are made.
The problems have jeopardized PCL's ability to bid on future state jobs. In less than a week, its certification will run out unless the DOT accepts the firm's explanation for a series of troubles with the Memorial Causeway bridge and Sarasota's John Ringling Causeway bridge.
On Friday, DOT officials said they are trying to sort out who is responsible: PCL; the engineers who designed the bridges; others who engineered construction plans; or the consultants who reviewed the blueprints.
"Maybe the flags were there, and nobody picked it up," said Ananth Prasad, director of the DOT's Office of Construction. "That's what we are trying to look into."
Harder did not name the engineering firms used by PCL, and he said it is unclear whether the bridge designs were flawed or whether the construction sequences contained errors.
What is clear, he said, is that PCL followed instructions from the same two engineering firms on both troubled projects.
"That's the common denominator," Harder said.
Public records show PCL hired Raleigh, N.C.-based Earth Tech to design both bridges, while Tallahassee-based Parsons Transportation Group performed the construction engineering.
In Clearwater, Tampa-based HDR drafted the original design for the Memorial Causeway bridge. Initially, the bridge deck was to be fastened to its supports using "pot bearings." The bearings would have allowed the roadbed to rock back and forth during construction, helping distribute force along its surface.
But after being awarded the contract, PCL hired Earth Tech to redesign the project with an eye toward trimming costs and time. Using the new plans, which were reviewed by HDR and approved by the DOT, the roadbed was connected directly to the support columns.
That meant the columns tilted slightly back and forth with the roadway as sections were added on each end.
Engineers agree that cracks in the columns were caused when the roadway got too far out of balance during construction.
In a letter to the state Department of Transportation released Friday, Harder addressed a series of questions the agency has raised with PCL's performance.
The 28-page letter defended the firm's track record and pointed out that the DOT had approved designs for the projects. The letter also included a long list of its award-winning projects in Florida.
"(I)t is important to understand that design error related issues made by several firms working as Engineer of Record (EOR) are the compelling cause of the difficulties in each of these projects," Harder wrote.
A spokesman for Earth Tech on Friday said his company wasn't to blame.
"At this point," Frank Pollare said, "there's nothing to suggest that there were any material defects in the bridge design."
He said the firm is cooperating with the DOT as it studies the problems.
A woman who answered the phone Friday at Parsons Transportation Group declined to answer questions.
"We don't have any comment," she said. "Have a nice day."
Prasad, of the DOT, said PCL has a strong track record on other state projects, but the recent string of problems has raised concerns about a pattern of sloppy work.
He said tight deadlines might have contributed to the errors.
"Obviously time pressures were there," Prasad said, adding later, "Is this an issue that maybe they're overstretched?"
Harder said PCL will finish the Memorial Causeway bridge and will hold its engineering consultants responsible for their duties.
"There are some engineering problems here, but we have not quite figured out where they lie," he said. "We as a team, we and our engineers, have a contractual obligation to deliver a bridge. We don't leave them until they're done and until they're right."
- Jennifer Farrell can be reached at farrell@sptimes.com or 727 445-4160.