520pontoon.jpg
Washington State Department of Transportation officials admitted Tuesday a number of mistakes were made in the construction of pontoons for the new 520 bridge, and it\'ll cost at least tens of millions to fix them.(WSDOT image)

WSDOT admits major mistakes and costly repairs for 520 pontoon fix

BY Josh Kerns  on February 26, 2013 @ 2:10 pm (Updated: 9:01 am - 2/27/13 )

Washington State Department of Transportation officials admitted Tuesday a number of mistakes were made in the construction of pontoons for the new 520 bridge, and it'll cost at least tens of millions to fix them.

Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond told reporters fixing the cracks found in the pontoons built in Aberdeen will likely delay completion of the project beyond the December 2014 target date to open the new floating bridge, likely pushing into 2015.

Hammond said while she doesn't know if the costs will reach $100 million, she feels confident they won't approach the $200 million the state has left in its contingency fund. She said negotiations with the contractors are underway.

Hammond also announced WSDOT is making repairs and design modifications to ensure a 75-year lifespan for the bridge.

While an expert review panel determined the pontoons are structurally sound, it found the department did not follow proper standards to validate the pontoon design elements and did not strictly follow protocols for oversight on the construction site, according to the new findings released Tuesday.

"The results of our internal review show that we did not follow standards of good practice to validate the pontoon design elements, and as an engineer, that is particularly frustrating," Hammond continued. "We also did not strictly follow some of our protocols for oversight and administration of the contract on the construction site."

Hammond also said WSDOT would take disciplinary action against staffers who approved the bridge design without doing computer testing that would have predicted the cracking.

"I agree with the internal review findings that there were technical design, construction management, and decision-making failures by our employees and managers," said Hammond. "I am directing WSDOT's chief of staff to prepare the appropriate disciplinary actions, and make the necessary changes to agency protocols and practices."

Hammond is leaving office March. 8. She'll be replaced by Lynn Peterson, an Oregon highway engineer and government adviser appointed last week by Gov. Jay Inslee.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Josh Kerns, MyNorthwest.com Reporter
Josh Kerns is co-host of KIRO Radio's Seattle Sounds (Saturday nights 7-8) and a digital content producer for MyNorthwest.com.
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Comments (59)


  • Add A Comment

  • Ted Bundi wrote...
    "...there were technical design, construction management, and decision-making failures..."
    February 26, 2013 2:41 pm
    Do I see a sinking bridge during a storm? Now they say it will last 75 years? How long has the Golden Gate bridge been in use?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Bulluga wrote...
    How many days a year do they spend repairing the Golden Gate Bridge?
    February 26, 2013 3:25 pm
    Not a good comparison. The 75 year life is a standard and you are comparing two different types of bridges. The environmental aspects of a floating bridge are completely different than a bedrock based suspension bridge.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Bulluga wrote...
    Please get it Right
    February 26, 2013 3:04 pm
    Your report says 'mistakes... in the construction of the pontoons'. Paula Hammond said no such thing; she said in the 'design' of the pontoons. Please get your statements to be unbiased.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Cbrew wrote...
    Please quit defending Kiewit...
    February 26, 2013 6:00 pm
    Your bias is obvious a report cited all sorts of problems with Kiewet including workers drinking on the job... Watch Komo's investigation. Of Kiewits negligence
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Bulluga wrote...
    Cbrews
    February 27, 2013 7:54 am
    That was not a 'report' it was sensationalistic entertainment. The 'facts' were missrepresented and reaaranged. Note that there were no timelines provided as to when the segments actually were filmed. Great film editing on KOMO's part as entertainment for the rest of us.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    So this is why we are about to "be jacked" for higher gas taxes.
    February 27, 2013 12:12 am
    .
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Rick W7PSK wrote...
    And just think Boys and Girls
    February 27, 2013 4:58 am
    this same group is watching the Tunnel Project. Think of the Cost overruns and delays on this one.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • murr wrote...
    The mistake is
    February 27, 2013 5:11 am
    WSDOT thinking they can manage a popsickle stand. They can't. They could not ride and keep a tricycle on one of those pontoons.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Mike Hunt wrote...
    Why not just build a regular bridge?
    February 27, 2013 8:41 am
    Growing up in hurricane country I can't even imagine a floating bridge - but our regular ones did just fine, lasted forever and were quickly repaired following storm damage. Why not go with what has been proven to work and less expensive?

    @ Cbrew - I get that you are anti-R, but this is the NW, not Texas. Complaining about R's is a strawman argument - what do the R's control in this state?

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Bulluga wrote...
    Mike Hunt
    February 27, 2013 9:17 am
    Regular bridges would be preferred, they just cannot be built in deep water and 20' of mud. Cbrews works for Boeing installing batteries and prefers to stand by a fire barrel complaining about a good job in a crumbling economy ready to go over the brink in a Democratic controlled environment.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ted Bundi wrote...
    For the money
    February 28, 2013 7:34 am
    they are spending on this, 20 feet of mud is not the issue. That can be overcome. Why not a bridge instead of leaking pontoons?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Bulluga wrote...
    Ted
    February 28, 2013 1:45 pm
    It can be done, it would cost $1B+. Even the existing 520 leaks after they added post tensioning to it. The leaks will go away when the bridge design gets remedied. Since this new 520 is reportably twice as deep as the existing 520 more engineering modeling needed to be done to mitigate the curing cracks from the big wall pours.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • HLC wrote...
    Cbrew has shown he has no grasp of the facts.
    February 27, 2013 9:37 am
    The state decided to engineer the pontoons in house to save money. As usual it proves the government cannot do tasks as well as can be done privately. Pay me now or pay me later, you get what you pay for, what ever you call it the taxpayer is on the hook for another Say Wa screw up. Now Inslee is going to replace Paula with another lib without an engineering background. Expect more of the same but she does love electric cars which is why Inslee hired her. That was all he was looking for.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Bulluga wrote...
    HLC
    February 27, 2013 10:00 am
    The new replacement wants us all to ride bicycles too. It will be just like getting a new Pope, the abuse and coverups will continue.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • schneidballs wrote...
    Cbrew
    February 27, 2013 10:30 am
    Nice try blaming the private sector here, but the plans were written and approved by the government. They are disciplining government workers for this (how rare) - not the people who put it together. Maybe if they would have outsourced the design and oversight to a private firm they could have avoided all this.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }