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New problem arises from U.S. 41 widening project
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Six years after construction started, and the U.S. 41 widening project in Bonita Springs still is causing problems.
The road construction that increased the north-south thoroughfare from four to six lanes was plagued by problems and delays from its beginning in 2002. Even after the job was accepted as complete by the Florida Department of Transportation, Bonita Springs government remains unsatisfied.
The constant delays in the project, which caused daily congestion, was all but forgotten by Southwest Florida motorists in September 2006 when all six lanes finally opened to traffic. The project was finally accepted in mid-2007, nearly a year after FDOT started assessing a $6,078 daily fine against prime contractor Astaldi Construction Company of Italy.
More than a year after final acceptance, Bonita Springs points to the half-working street lights hanging over U.S. 41 as a sign that the construction project that wouldn’t finish still hasn’t finished.
“We’ve had a continued problem ever since they were installed. They’ve never worked right,” said Daryl Walk, Bonita public works manager. “It has been several years now, and maybe Bonita Springs deserves more than a patched up system.”
The city paid an extra $417,800 on top of the $19 million FDOT contract to get more decorative street lights above the thoroughfare.
The lights were supposed to pass a seven-day burn test before FDOT accepted the construction project as complete, and transportation officials claim that all 209 lights passed that test.
The problems began last summer when the lights started to fail.
“We’ve had glitches in them,” FDOT spokeswoman Debbie Tower said. “We did not know what was creating the problem.”
The lights were installed by a subcontractor to the widening project, Mastec, Inc., which has since been acquired by Atlas Traffic Management Systems.
Atlas is working with FDOT to find the problem and is completing an inspection of every light. The report is expected next week.
“We believe that should create a positive outcome,” Tower said. “We’re getting closer to getting every light to work on a consistent basis.”
Once the lights are functioning in an acceptable manner to FDOT and Bonita Springs, the city will take over the cost of maintenance, but Bonita officials remain adamant that this issue needs to be resolved.
“I won’t authorize to pay it until the work is done and meets all the criteria. They have an obligation,” Bonita Councilman Richard Ferreira said. “There’s no reason with all the problems that U.S. 41 had.”
FDOT has yet to finalize the payment to Astaldi for the U.S. 41 widening project and how much in fines will be taken out of it because of the multiple delays. The original contract came to $19 million, and the company earned an extra $1.3 million in bonuses for meeting certain deadlines on the project.
The fines, if taken in whole, equal more than $2.2 million.
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At least City of Bonita has enough common sense to not accept the status quo.
Meanwhile, Collier County has peeling paint traffic lights, crooked poles, six different colors on the poles, and on and on and on.
It is ridiculous.
#1 Posted by beetlejuice on July 15, 2008 at 11:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)
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