ST9302-CS 990204 Afl,ag
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4. 1999
www. star-telegram.com
Street construction blues
Oft-delayed Cooper widening project criticized
BY JEFF
ARLINGTON -- Cooper Street construction
has become a burden m motorists, a punch in
retailers' pocket books and a pain in the neck to
The Texas Depemnent of Transportation esti-
mated that the $2.4 million street-widening pro-
ject, which stat~l April 1, 1997, would be com-
pleted in June 1998. But the completion date has
been extended time and again, and the latest word
is late this momh.
Throughout the project, days and sometimes
weeks have passed with no sign of work. City
ot~cinJs a~e
Bill Verkest, direetor of rbe city's Del~mment
of Engineering, criticizes both the cootractnr, Ed
Bell Construction Co., and the Department of
Transpemtion, which ovo'sees thi: lx~ject.
"We cominue to be concerned lira the ceeaao-
neccanry to bring wht is ief~ of ~bis proje~ to a
couclusion,' Verkeat said. "FxDOT las n
sibility to ~ public and should demand
tractor's performance be at the level t~ey ate
capable of wben tl~*y gave fl~m Ibc ceatra~
State highway of~ciaJs,'bowever, d~fend Ed
(Mo~e off COOPER Go page I~A)
COOP£R
From Page lA
"They're a good contractor,"
sam Albert Durant, assistant ~
~nSine~ "rbey do quanty wo~"
: Officials at Ed Bell Construe-
tiao did not return sevenl phone
nmsoses rcqucCdng commant
The core,my t~ rcspon~ih~ ~?
u center turning lane between Park
Row Drive and Mitchell Street.
and between Border and Abram
slrects.
'mc contractor has racked up
could surpass $100,000 by the
And despite the agency's sup-
of Transportatiou spokesman
Chad Lorsnce recently declared
poinunent'
'Tnis one lxoject has takan a lot
longer than we thought it was
going to take," Lorsnee said.
to AflingUm and weeld like it to be
Construction workers reeenuy
State projects have traditionally
gone to the lowest bidder that
its methed of awarding state s~et
in pm by a ]ttur fium ~
officials criticizing tt~ work on
ss A plUS B bidding conWactots
bined to dn~rmine the winning
However, revisions to the bid-
~ process ~re~ reumcdve
for your information
· D~JIn-based ~ B~I Cons~ruclJon
Co. Ms la~n hit vdth about $50,000
in cM~ ~ fail, nO I~hiM on COOl~
er Slre~ conslruc~on and could face
mo~ thas $100,000 in c~rges ~
$ Beu Cons~n~-*lion Ms bee~ a Iow
1993, securing about $55 mfllK~ m
schedule on 10 e4 22 i0bs and has
and do not affect CooDcr Street
Cans retatlen
don bas received 22 state highway
contraas ~ mo~ flare $55
million since 1993. Half of those
we~ in Tammt Coonty.
Tm of 22 jobs were finished
Ed Bell Construction does not
vidas high-quality work, highway
Many factors determine
whether a project is finished on
Part of the delay on Cooper
way officials said. Other factors
include harsh weather and
Another reason for the delay
puny rotating specialized crews
"That's the way most of the
contractors work," Durent said.
~here is so much wixk going an
in Tan'ant County, Dallas, Collin
specialize. They shuttle these
crews aronnd a four- er tive-conn-
~area."
B~r~ funnll traffic on Cooper Street to on~ lane in each direction
about eight motets after the pfojecrs original comolebon date.
Ro~ing a crew among several Durant has worked m co,june-
jobs allows conUacters to submit uon Mi Ed Bell Consmicu~ on.
iowerbids, he said. about a dozen state su~ei projects
-mat allow~ us to get a beuer ~n the .pe~. 13 ,y~,. The compau, y
eomraot and it makes more sense is profcss]omu anu competent, ne
The practice can also slow On Nov. 1, 1998, the highway
l~mgte~s' department began assessing Ed
Harvey (:~, area engi- Bell Construction with liquidated
nee~ fo~ highway de~ent, cfit- ~mages for being behind sched-
icized the contractor's peffor- ule. The dnpanment will charge
mance on Cooper Street. the company $1,200 a day for five
"They had mom projects that days a week, excluding holidays,
they were working on than they un~ the job is completed.
had equipment and personnel to The highway department
handle," he said severs] months deducts the amount from the pay-
rneot to the contractor at the end
ago.
But he did not denounce the ~.~,fthep~ec~
company.
I've had worse contractors," he
s~ Most tagpayers acrOss the state
couldn't care less about Cooper
Street They have their own stree~
pwbiems.
But in Aflingto~ Coot~ Street
is a golden path, the most heavily
traveled north-south street in the
Construction limits access.
Motorists I-md new mutes. Adja-
cent business operators lament
dwindling dollars.
Several businesses have shut
their doors or relocated. A
restaurant closed and opened
Tma's Cafe under new ovflzflhip;
the Zombie's Coffee owner sold
er has kept the Zombie's nmne bet
changed thc business to a teen
dance club with live music.
fion being widened is a state w~
Farm Road 157.
Ed Bell's ~igina] bid of
million was the iow~st ~ the bids
from four conUactnes competing
fo~ thc job. The secot~i-iowcst bid
was $2.42 milliee. The highest bid
was $2.55 million.
After the job began, city and
state highway oif~als requeated
additional work, increasing Ed
Belrs conWaot to mo~e than $2A
'me highway dq~unant over-
sees hundreds of st~t con.~m:-
yenr. Thc agency reports to the
Texas Transportation Commis-
sion, a three-member panel
appointed by the govemur and
intions for the highway depafl-
trsfion ensures that state dap~-
ment projects meet federal stun-
Taxes pay for tbe psojec~ and
spent wisely. One way to save
money is to allow contractors
jecl in front of their house,"
Durant mi&
_)