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.