Monday, May 11, 2015

Massive Retaining Wall Collapsed; Replacement Wall to Cost a Pretty Penny


ROGERSVILLE, PA

West Greene School Board learned last month just how expensive it is going to be to build a retaining wall behind the district’s new elementary school, following the collapse of the original wall Nov. 6.

The board last month approved a contractor’s proposal to build a new wall at a guaranteed maximum price of $5.2 million. With engineering and administrative fees, the bill could be as much as $6.4 million.

Considering the guaranteed maximum price is almost half the original cost of the elementary school project, the new wall is going to be expensive. Contracts the board awarded in May 2013 for construction of the school, including the original retaining wall, totaled $10.9 million.

Obviously, the board is not happy with the situation. Last month, members questioned where the district would get the money for the project and why the price for the new wall seemed to escalate within a matter of months.

The board earlier decided to build the new elementary school next to the middle-senior high school, which will consolidate all district buildings on one campus. But in order to make room for the new elementary school at the site, the district had to excavate a large hillside, which required the construction of the retaining wall. The original retaining wall was massive. According to early drawings, it stretched 761 feet and reached a height of 31 feet.

Long before the wall collapsed, the board expressed concerns about its adequacy. Last April, seven months before the wall failed, the board hired an engineer to review the wall design to ensure it was appropriate for site conditions. At this time, only the board and others involved in the project, including the architect, the engineering firm that designed the wall, the general contractor and construction manager know why work continued on the wall despite initial doubts about its adequacy.

We can assume each of the parties also has its own point of view of what happened and who should be blamed for the original wall’s collapse. The general contractor on the school project, Liokareas Construction Co., already filed a lawsuit against the district seeking damages for additional work it claims it was asked to perform in response to issues involving the failed wall. The board solicitor has declined to comment on the matter, but we feel confident more lawsuits will follow.

Since the wall collapsed in November, the board expedited the process of hiring a new contractor and developing plans for a new wall. It hopes to have the project completed in time for the district to begin using its new elementary school at the start of the school year.

Though not enough information is available to draw any conclusions about why the wall collapsed or who is at fault, we can say with certainty no one wanted it to happen. We’re sure the board right now would rather be showing off the district’s new elementary building and all its amenities and not sitting on pins and needles waiting to see if a new wall can be built in time for the start of the school 2015-16 school year and within the proposed budget.

The board’s concerns also will probably only be prolonged by the litigation that is bound to follow and could continue for years.

The project certainly has its problems, and if there is any consolation it is the district will soon have a new elementary school that should long outlast the troubles it has caused.



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ROGERSVILLE – At many of its meetings during the past year, West Greene School Board addressed issues regarding the design and construction of the retaining wall that was being built as part of the new elementary school project.


Its concerns were apparently warranted.


The wall, which runs behind the new elementary center, partially collapsed last Thursday night, district Superintendent Thelma Szarell said.


The district noticed cracks and separations in the wall for the last several weeks, she said.


The board met last Thursday night partly to discuss the matter with representatives of the project architect, The Hayes Design Group, and the construction manager, URS Corp., she said.


“Sometime through the night, it collapsed,” she said.


The district is now trying to determine what caused the wall to collapse, Szarell said. It doesn’t appear soil behind the wall moved, which was one of the district’s earlier concerns, but the wall seems to have failed at its base, she said.


Engineers do not believe the wall will collapse any further.


“It doesn’t appear to be any danger to the new school,” Szarell said.


The new three-story elementary center was constructed in an area that required excavation of a large hillside. According to an early design drawing, the wall stretches 761 feet behind the new building and at its highest point reaches 31 feet.


The district will probably hire an independent engineer to investigate the wall’s collapse and develop a plan to correct the problem, Szarell said.


Though the new elementary building is almost completed, the district is planning not to begin using it for classes until next school year.


At past meetings, the board took action in regard to several issues concerning the wall, including addressing the issue of gray clay in soil behind the wall and the installation of drains beneath the wall’s diversion channel.


In April, the board also hired an independent engineer to review the design of the wall to ensure the wall would be adequate for conditions at the site.


“From the beginning, we’ve been trying to makes sure everything has been carried out correctly,” Szarell said. That is why the board asked for additional testing and took the other steps it did to make sure everything was right, she said. “We feel we have done our due diligence.”


The collapse of the wall is expected to lead to litigation, Szarell said. The district does not believe it should pay for repairing the wall “under any circumstances,” she said.