Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Lakeside Industry pavers prepared to place asphalt on approaches to the new Puget Island ferry landing. Paving will require another partial shutdown of ferry service when the pavers can apply a seal coat to the cement deck and let it dry, but county Publlc Works Director Pete Ringen said Wednesday that hasn't yet been scheduled. Photo by RIck Nelson.
Bergerson Construction workers finished installation of a new pontoon at the end of the new ferry ramp on Tuesday. Federal funding for the ramp is in question because a subcontractor used foreign steel to construct a portion of the pontoon. Photo by Rick Nelson.
Wahkiakum County officials plan to seek a waiver to enforcement of federal laws that could take away federal funding for the new landing and ramp on Puget Island.
The federal Buy America Act (BAA) requires use of American made steel for all steel fabrication in projects funded by federal grants. The contractor, Bergerson Construction of Astoria, discovered that a subcontractor in Indiana used 45 percent Mexican steel in the pontoon, which was built in Mexico.
Bergerson notified the county of the error and has kept working on the $1.87 million project. It would cost over $250,000 to replace the pontoon, the company said in a February 15 letter to county Public Works Director Pete Ringen, and the project couldn't be finished in the in-water work window allowed by state and federal permitting agencies.
Following suggestions from Bergerson, county Commissioners Blair Brady, Dan Cothren and Lisa Marsyla authorized Ringen to apply for a waiver from the requirement and also agreed to contact US senators and representatives from Oregon and Washington to lobby for a solution.
The Bergerson letter outlined the process and grounds for applying for a waiver from the BAA. A waiver is permitted if using domestic steel will add significant cost and delay to a project.
Bergerson said the cost of producing the float domestically would be $188,000; the subcontractor bid $134,900, approximately 28 percent less.
Federal law also allows a waiver when removal or replacement of foreign steel would be impracticable or cause undue delay or otherwise be detrimental to the interests of the federal government.
Another option, Bergerson said, would be for the Federal Highway Administration, which administers the grant funding, to withdraw funds of just the extent of the Mexican steel, about a $55,000 value. The county would use non-federal funding to cover this portion of the costs.
Work on the ramp is nearing completion. Lakeside Industries was working on paving Tuesday, the second day of a full closure of ferry service.
Bergerson has installed the new ramp, using the pontoon which is at the center of the funding controversy.
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