BRUNSWICK, Ga. - Contractors plan to finish Brunswick's new Sidney Lanier Bridge in July, more than a year late, with traffic scheduled to be routed onto the new cable suspension span in May. <br>
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Chilly weather last month and an assortment of engineering hindrances have led to the latest delays, project manager Brian West said Monday. <br>
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The Georgia Department of Transportation is fining the contractor, Recchi-GLF, a joint venture between two Italian construction firms, $2,100 per day for the tardy project. <br>
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Work on the main part of the $110 million bridge began in February 1997, almost two years after contractors began work on the bridges' approaches. <br>
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The 7,776-foot bridge, suspended by cable from two 480-foot towers, spans the Brunswick River to the Jekyll Island Causeway. It will replace a 43-year-old drawbridge the Coast Guard has declared a navigation hazard. <br>
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West blamed ``a host of minor things all adding up to additional delay times'' for the uncompleted bridge. <br>
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``These types of bridges ... as a whole are very complex structures. They take a great deal of planning, a great deal of engineering,'' West said. ``They're all unique. They're like humans with different personalities, and this one may have had a few temper tantrums along the way.'' <br>
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Traffic on U.S. 17 will be switched from the old bridge to the new on May 28, nearly three months later than scheduled. Overall completion has been pushed back to July 9 instead of April 14 as predicted last month. <br>
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The DOT has assessed $503,200 in fines through Monday. Recchi-GLF, whose American operations are based in Miami, will pay about $1 million in fines by the time the project formally concludes, West said. <br>
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It was originally scheduled for completion Dec. 31, 2000, but the DOT granted an extension to June 30, 2001, after a key piece of equipment was destroyed in an accident on the work site, delaying work on the main span by six months. <br>
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DOT began charging $2,100 per day on July 1, 2001, and will continue collecting those fines until the bridge is finished. Another $1,000 a day was added Oct. 25 because of a detour on the south end of the bridge that was supposed to be in place no more than a year.
