SHARON Viaduct builder, county to put lawsuits on hold

A joint investigation will determine the cause of the bridge's misalignment.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
SHARON, Pa. -- A lawsuit over who should pay to correct a misalignment problem with the unfinished Oakland Avenue Viaduct will be delayed while the two sides work together to find the cause of the problem.
Mercer County was to file a response Friday to a lawsuit filed in January by Carmen Paliotta Contracting of Library, Pa., the bridge contractor, alleging that the county is at fault for a beam misalignment problem that has delayed completion of the bridge replacement project.
Instead, the county and Paliotta have agreed to work together in "a joint fact finding investigation," said Atty. William G. McConnell Jr., representing the county.
The lawsuit will be put on hold during the investigation, McConnell said.
The probe is expected to occur over the next several weeks and will involve the voluntary exchange of information between the parties in an effort to agree on the cause of the misalignment problem, he said.
The situation
Paliotta was given a $3.6 million contract in 2001 to tear down the old 300-foot span over the Shenango Valley Freeway and replace it, a task that was to be completed in November 2001.
However, a misalignment found just before the new concrete deck was to be poured showed the bridge had a slight "S" shape, resulting in the county directing Paliotta to stop work.
The problem was traced to the bridge's new concrete pedestals, some of which apparently had settled, causing the misalignment.
Efforts to resolve who was responsible for the misalignment and who should pay to correct it have raged ever since, and Paliotta began dismantling the partially finished bridge in December, saying it would pinpoint the cause of the problem and then sue the county for the additional work incurred in that task.
The county ordered Paliotta to stop the dismantling because the company didn't file a plan showing how it would reconstruct the span.
Suit filed
Paliotta filed suit against the county in Mercer County Common Pleas Court in January, alleging that the county has been dragging its feet on approving a repair plan for the bridge.
Further, the suit said the pedestal settlement was the result of an inspector for the county directing the Paliotta crew to use stone beneath the pedestals' bases instead of concrete as called for in the original contract. The stone allowed the pedestals to sink slightly, Paliotta said.
The lawsuit asks the court to allow Paliotta to terminate its contract and to award the company more than $500,000 for additional expenses incurred.
Paliotta has already been paid $2.9 million on the contract.
County officials have denied county responsibility for the pedestal problem and resulting bridge misalignment, saying there is no record of any change order directing that stone be placed beneath the pedestals.
The county doesn't believe the pedestals have settled but thinks that they were improperly built, officials have said.
McConnell said the cooperative approach is being undertaken to reduce litigation costs and hopefully reach a solution that will result in expediting completion of the project.