Jonathan Street project awarded

February 24, 2009|By DAN DEARTH

HAGERSTOWN -- The City of Hagerstown will pay a Pennsylvania contractor $2.1 million to finish the road construction project on Jonathan Street.

On Tuesday, the Hagerstown City Council voted 5-0 to award the contract to Charles E. Brake Co. of St. Thomas, Pa.

Charles E. Brake Co. was hired because the original contractor, Ardent Co. of McLean, Va., said it couldn't finish the job within the $3.7 million cost of the original contract.

City Engineer Rodney Tissue said before Tuesday's council meeting that the project hit a snag last year after workers discovered an unusually large amount of subsurface rock. The rock caused delays because it had to be removed before workers could replace a sewer line, he said.

Tissue said about a quarter of the project already has been completed. The $2.1 million contract with Charles E. Brake Co. will cover a majority of the cost to finish the work that hasn't been done, he said.

When the work is completed, the total cost of the project is expected to be about $3.9 million, or roughly $200,000 more than the original contract with Ardent Co., Tissue said.

The Jonathan Street project includes replacing the subsurface sewer line, and the reconstruction of the street, curb and sidewalk.

If everything goes as planned, Tissue said, construction could resume the week of March 9 and be finished by the end of this year.

The city received seven bids last week from contractors to complete the project, according to city documents. The bids ranged from $2.1 million to $5.7 million.

How they voted:

Martin E. Brubaker, yes

Kelly S. Cromer, yes

Lewis C. Metzner, yes

Penny M. Nigh, yes

Alesia D. Parson-McBean, yes

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