Cars are driving on Pasco’s Lewis Street Overpass, so why do project costs keep climbing?
It’s been months since the Lewis Street Overpass opened to cars in downtown Pasco in April.
But costs for the project continue to climb.
Pasco City Council voted late last month to approve another $2.7 million in change orders.
“It’s up to $40 million for this whole project, from design to construction,” Councilman Leo Perales said at the meeting. “I thought this project was behind us and now we’re hit with this amount.”
The total cost of the project to date is $40.6 million, Pasco city staff wrote in a statement.
Perales and Councilman Peter Harpster voted against approving the new change orders, but the majority approved them.
The city council already approved 36 change orders, totaling $3.8 million, for additional work requested by Cascade Bridge, the Vancouver, Wash.-based company building the bridge downtown over the BNSF railway tracks.
That makes 52 change orders totaling $6.5 million. And at least two more change orders are being negotiated, said city officials.
The 625-foot bridge opened in April to replace a deteriorating underpass. Current work efforts are focused on preparing the existing Lewis Street Underpass for demolition and conducting utility work on 1st Avenue and Tacoma Street.
City staff wrote in a statement that additional work yet to be completed includes implementing the recently approved change orders, constructing the staircase from the lower “existing” Lewis Street area to the new bridge, and completing waterline construction, roadway construction, stormwater facilities (including curbs and gutters), sidewalks, pedestrian amenities, lighting and landscaping.
The largest new change order totaled $1.9 million.
The new order adds 174 working days to the contractor’s work schedule, resolves more than $2.5 million in claims and means that the contractor agrees to a “clear-all” of issues, avoiding a prolonged dispute with the city.
Some of the project changes came because of demands from BNSF Railway.
The railroad screening gap does not currently meet BNSF requirements. That’s the metal fencing-style barrier on top of the pedestrian barrier outside edges of the bridge.
There also is an escalation of costs because of project delays.
Project background
Cascade Bridge was awarded the contract in 2021 to build the overpass for $22.3 million.
The current construction contract, including all change orders, totals $28.8 million.
The overpass is being paid for mostly by the state and federal governments. Washington has contributed $24.4 million, the city has contributed $8.4 million and the federal government has pitched in $3.4 million.
That doesn’t include the additional change orders from Cascade Bridge or work requested of BNSF.
The $3 million underpass demolition project is expected to finish next year. The city is looking into state and federal grant funding to pay for that work.
The project should be substantially done by September. More work may need to be done by contractors after that time.
This story was originally published August 2, 2024 at 9:09 AM.
