SHARON BRIDGE Official: PennDOT controls project

The commissioner said the county is not at fault in the bridge problem.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
SHARON, Pa. -- Mercer County Commissioner Olivia Lazor said the county is being unfairly blamed for delays in the completion of the Oakland Avenue Viaduct.
It is a county bridge and the county awarded the contract for its replacement, but the job is being controlled by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, which is putting up 20 percent of the $3.6 million project.
The rest of the money is coming from a federal grant.
The bridge, spanning the Shenango Valley Freeway, was to be replaced in 2001. The old structure was demolished and the framework for the new one erected before the county discovered that the bridge had a misalignment that gave it a slight "S" shape.
The county ordered work halted on the project in November 2001 just before the contractor, Carmen Paliotta Contracting Inc. of Library, Pa., was to begin pouring the concrete bridge deck. The county, the contractor, its subcontractors and PennDOT have been working on finding a way to correct the problem ever since.
Sharon city officials said they are getting tired of being blamed for the delay, pointing out that it is a county bridge and questions from residents should be addressed to the county commissioners.
Lazor said Wednesday that the county doesn't have the answers.
Who's in charge
PennDOT engineers control the project and have indicated they won't allow construction to resume until they are satisfied that corrective actions for the misalignment problem will work as proposed, she said.
There's no specific timetable for that review, she said.
The latest corrective-action plan involves loosening the bridge's metal structure, using heavy cables to pull it into correct alignment and then replacing the bolts holding the structure in place.
Lazor said the county is trying to arrange a meeting between Sharon officials and PennDOT but that the meeting will be held at PennDOT offices in Franklin, not in Sharon city hall.
The county is holding a performance bond on the contractor but can't declare the contractor in default as long as the company is working with the state on a plan to correct the misalignment, she said.
Lazor disputed a claim by the contractor that the misalignment is the county's fault.
A letter issued by the contractor in September said the misalignment is the result of a county bridge inspector's telling workers to use stone beneath the concrete footings and pedestals instead of Class C concrete as called for in the contract.
The result was that the pedestals settled, causing the misalignment, Paliotta said.
Lazor said there is no evidence that anyone associated with the county or state directed the contractor to make that change.
Any changes from the original contract are documented in writing and there are no notes or other documents indicating any such change was authorized by any inspectors, she said.
gwin@vindy.com