WSAZ Investigates | Contractor paying for construction delays

JACKSON COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) - Construction delays on State Route 68 between Ravenswood and Parkersburg have been costing drivers time and gas - and now, it’s costing the contractor money as well.

Work on the Pond Creek Bridge at the Jackson-Wood County line was supposed to be completed Aug. 18, in time for the start of the school year, according to the West Virginia Department of Transportation.

Instead, work is now set to be completed around Sept. 12. Because of the delay, the WVDOT is enforcing the “liquified damages” clause in the project’s contract.

Those damages will cost contractor Triton Construction $1,600 per day that work is still being done. From Aug. 19 to Sept. 12, that could cost the company around $40,000.

A spokesperson with WVDOT told WSAZ this kind of payment is written into most of their contracts, but that completion dates can be flexible with unforeseen circumstances.

“We were trying to get it open even before the school season started, so we had even moved that back a little bit from the 14th to August 18th,” the spokesperson Brent Walker told WSAZ. “So this is one of those projects that we are now assessing those liquidated damages.”

According to the WVDOT, the bridge is set to reopen Thursday with alternating one lane shifts during the day and both lanes open at night. The damage payments will still be assessed as long as work is being done.

For residents like Robert and Donna Hoff, who live a half mile from the bridge on the Ravenswood side, the delay has meant they have to drive further for longer than they expected. They say the project has turned a 20-minute drive to church in Parkersburg into more than an hour.

“We go to church up that way, and all of our appointments are in Parkersburg or Belpre,” Donna told WSAZ. “So, everywhere we go, we have to go the long way around.”

The Hoffs said they’re excited for work to be completed soon, but that they want drivers and workers to be safe, first and foremost.

“You always run into unknown factors when you’re doing something,” Robert told WSAZ. “And I understand that they did when they started this bridge construction, that they ran into problems that they didn’t foresee. But, you know, it is what it is. We’re hoping for [work to be done] real soon.”

Triton is working on several other major projects across the state, including the Ravenswood Bridge, connecting the city with Meigs County, Ohio; and the upcoming Fort Hill Bridge project in Charleston. The company did not respond to a request for comment, including why the Route 68 project is delayed.

Walker told WSAZ the assessment of the damages does not reflect any lost trust between the state and Triton.

“Triton is a West Virginia-born contractor,” he said. “They are a strong contracting partner. They are a leader in the industry. It’s not uncommon for companies like Triton to have a lot of work. And so we have no reason to think they can’t bid on and complete every job they have with the state.”

WSAZ asked WVDOT for a complete list of all the projects awarded to Triton, and how often the liquidated damages are assessed. They say they are working on answers to that.