Multnomah County's Sellwood Bridge project is about to reach a milestone officials were hoping not to reach.
The estimated cost is $80,261 away from reaching $317.5 million, the high end of a reported cost that's driven by unexpected issues through the years, such as underwater drilling, traffic control and groundwork, according to records obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive. Anything beyond $317.5 million means the cost will be split between the city of Portland and Multnomah County.
Still, the project blew through the original $12 million contingency built into the $307.5 million budget. A secondary $10 million reserve was built into the financial plan more than halfway into the construction phase, a spokesman said. Experts have said the original contingency is low but the $10 million additional reserve, which is about 3.25 percent of the original $307.5 million, is not unusual for such a complex project.
Project crews have encountered softer-than-expected soil underneath the ground that will become Oregon 43 on the west end of the bridge, said County Engineer and Transportation Division Director Ian Cannon. It's a new cost driver encountered by crews since The Oregonian/OregonLive first reported overruns in November.
"If it (soil) isn't going to provide a good foundation for the roadway," Cannon said, "then we excavate out more of that soil until we get to firmer stuff. Then we put in a couple of feet of crushed rock to provide a good solid foundation for the future highway."
On Tuesday, project managers gave their report to commissioners that lasted about a half hour and made a brief mention of the hope that costs would fall between $307.5 million and $317.5 million. Mike Baker, a consultant with David Evans & Associates, told commissioners costs were "bumping up against the upper end of that range."
"We will continue to manage change aggressively and continue to report back to the board each time we come about where we're at with the project budget," Baker said.
One of the three commissioners at the meeting reacted to the costs. Traffic flaggers -- the crews that control vehicles passing through the construction site - have cost the county more than expected, officials have said.
"This is a very dangerous job, and we have to make sure that we have everything in place and so kudos to you," said Commissioner Loretta Smith.
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Meanwhile, the lawsuit filed by the project's general contractor, a joint venture between Arizona-based Sundt Construction and Oregon's Slayden Construction Group, has been scheduled for a Feb. 29 jury trial, according to Multnomah County Circuit Court records filed last month.
The contractors seek $1.6 million in unexpected costs related to the drilling work for the bridge's pilings in the water and along the eastern shore of the Willamette River. The dispute isn't about the quality of the work, but rather whether the contractors should have known how difficult the job would have been based on geotechnical reports provided by the county.
The monthly financial reports released by the county show dollar figures not found in the reports given every other month to county commissioners and the public. The most recent report available is dated Aug. 31, 2015. Cannon said new estimates through the month of September will be complete in a few weeks.
The county is not planning to provide a new range of potential project cost, said Mike Pullen, county spokesman.
"Based on the trend we've seen, we do expect to see moderate cost increases in the final year of construction, similar to what we've seen in recent months," Pullen said. "We'll continue our work to contain costs."
If the costs exceed $317.5 million, the county has an agreement with the city to split overruns equally capped at $330 million, a cost the county has no intention of reaching, Cannon said after the meeting. In February, the city changed its agreement with the county delaying its final payment for the project until managers can pinpoint a final cost.
"The City of Portland's financial contribution to the Sellwood Bridge project remains capped at $86 million," said Dylan Rivera, Bureau of Transportation spokesman. "That has not changed since the new estimate nearing $317 million total cost, which we learned of in August."
Cannon told commissioners the bridge will be open to traffic early next year with substantial completion expected in November 2016.
-- Tony Hernandez
thernandez@oregonian.com
503-294-5928
@tonyhreports