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Lack of foresight, inaction to cost county about $500,000
Thelma Grimes
San Pedro Valley News-Sun
Poor oversight of the Ocotillo Road improvements could cost the county more than $500,000 said Richard Searle of the Cochise County Board of Supervisors, District 3.
Searle said the county ripped up a major portion of north Ocotillo to repair the poor job done last year when Huachuca Concrete repaved it. However, Searle said the county can't file a lawsuit and make the Sierra Vista company pay for the needed repair because of poor management from the highway department.
"The road is falling apart due to a contractor issue and we are doing our best to get it fixed right now," Searle said. "There are multiple reasons for the failure of the new pavement on Ocotillo Road and most were caused by poor oversight of the project by county staff. I am very concerned about this and find the extra costs to the county inexcusable. I am in the process of determining what changes need to be implemented and will do everything possible to make sure that the appropriate personnel are held accountable and that this does not happen again."
Searle said when they started investigating the issue they first found that the asphalt started going bad weeks after the work was done last spring. But the problem could have been taken care of then.
"When we started looking into this, and as the story unraveled we found out from road crews down here that the contractor didn't have the right equipment and wasn't doing a good job," Searle said. "The road crews then told their superiors in Bisbee and basically they ignored the warnings."
After the investigation is concluded, Searle said he expects several harsh reprimands to come down in the highway department, but did not mention names. Better policy will also be put in place to avoid this in the future, he said.
Searle said the person in charge of the department last year will not be punished, since former director Scott Dalrymple resigned in May.
"Scott resigned under pressure from the board in May, and if he were still in the position, he would certainly be under a lot of heat right now. Ultimately he was the man in charge when all of this happened," Searle said. "We are still going to look at some others in management positions in that department, but he was the main guy."
In the meantime, for the last few weeks residents have had long delays as a pilot car is going back and forth to lead south and northbound traffic on Ocotillo Road.
Karla Jensen, a spokesman for the county, said at first the county had just planned to rip up the bad asphalt, but as they moved forward, it was determined that the base of the road was also in bad shape and required repairs.
Jensen said a road test showed that the base did not meet state highway standards. Searle said according to a study conducted by Western Technologies, which the county hired to analyze the pavement on Ocotillo Road, 85 percent of the asphalt tests failed specifications, and 47 percent of the base failed as well.
Because of the problems with the base, Searle said that puts some fault on the county and makes it impossible for them to file a lawsuit against the contractor.
Jensen said crews are working on the base, but the area of concern is what to do about the asphalt. Discussions had been centered on laying new asphalt or chip sealing it to save money, she said.
Last week, Searle said they were able to come up with a solution and approved spending $380,000 for asphalt. The project should be complete some time this week.
"I am glad we are getting the problem fixed, and we are doing it right this time," Searle said. "But yes, this does bother me. I think we basically wasted $380,000 when there are so many needs all over the county."
Searle estimated that another $120,000 went toward paying county crews to do the work and for other supplies.
San Pedro Valley News-Sun
Poor oversight of the Ocotillo Road improvements could cost the county more than $500,000 said Richard Searle of the Cochise County Board of Supervisors, District 3.
Searle said the county ripped up a major portion of north Ocotillo to repair the poor job done last year when Huachuca Concrete repaved it. However, Searle said the county can't file a lawsuit and make the Sierra Vista company pay for the needed repair because of poor management from the highway department.
"The road is falling apart due to a contractor issue and we are doing our best to get it fixed right now," Searle said. "There are multiple reasons for the failure of the new pavement on Ocotillo Road and most were caused by poor oversight of the project by county staff. I am very concerned about this and find the extra costs to the county inexcusable. I am in the process of determining what changes need to be implemented and will do everything possible to make sure that the appropriate personnel are held accountable and that this does not happen again."
Searle said when they started investigating the issue they first found that the asphalt started going bad weeks after the work was done last spring. But the problem could have been taken care of then.
"When we started looking into this, and as the story unraveled we found out from road crews down here that the contractor didn't have the right equipment and wasn't doing a good job," Searle said. "The road crews then told their superiors in Bisbee and basically they ignored the warnings."
After the investigation is concluded, Searle said he expects several harsh reprimands to come down in the highway department, but did not mention names. Better policy will also be put in place to avoid this in the future, he said.
Searle said the person in charge of the department last year will not be punished, since former director Scott Dalrymple resigned in May.
"Scott resigned under pressure from the board in May, and if he were still in the position, he would certainly be under a lot of heat right now. Ultimately he was the man in charge when all of this happened," Searle said. "We are still going to look at some others in management positions in that department, but he was the main guy."
In the meantime, for the last few weeks residents have had long delays as a pilot car is going back and forth to lead south and northbound traffic on Ocotillo Road.
Karla Jensen, a spokesman for the county, said at first the county had just planned to rip up the bad asphalt, but as they moved forward, it was determined that the base of the road was also in bad shape and required repairs.
Jensen said a road test showed that the base did not meet state highway standards. Searle said according to a study conducted by Western Technologies, which the county hired to analyze the pavement on Ocotillo Road, 85 percent of the asphalt tests failed specifications, and 47 percent of the base failed as well.
Because of the problems with the base, Searle said that puts some fault on the county and makes it impossible for them to file a lawsuit against the contractor.
Jensen said crews are working on the base, but the area of concern is what to do about the asphalt. Discussions had been centered on laying new asphalt or chip sealing it to save money, she said.
Last week, Searle said they were able to come up with a solution and approved spending $380,000 for asphalt. The project should be complete some time this week.
"I am glad we are getting the problem fixed, and we are doing it right this time," Searle said. "But yes, this does bother me. I think we basically wasted $380,000 when there are so many needs all over the county."
Searle estimated that another $120,000 went toward paying county crews to do the work and for other supplies.
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The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of bensonnews-sun.com.
road worker wrote on Dec 8, 2007 10:54 AM:
" I nomally do not get involved in things like this, but, after reading this article with multiple inconsistencies and false statements, I feel I have no choice but to set it straight.
I have been doing roadwork for 25 years and in the first week I was taught that if the base is bad it will cause an almost immediate failure of the road surface.
The equipment and the personnel used to pave Ocotillo Rd. were more than addequate, But if you pave over an in-adequate base, you should have no reason to expect the pavement surface to last.
Someone made the choice to use a non approved material for the base, and it was only 1/4 the thikness that the county requires of developers to use based on the traffic conditions for that road.
It is my understanding that even though the contracter involved had no legal obligation, he repaved the road at no charge to the county.
Blame should be laid upon the shoulders of those responsible and not on a contracter who had absolutely no controll of what was done by others. "
OC wrote on Dec 8, 2007 12:05 PM:
" It sounds like N Ocotillo is in severe need of repair….It always amazes me when a company can’t get the job done right the first time. In the long run the tax payers will end up paying for the greed and corruption of the elite few. As long as we are on the subject has anyone addressed the sad condition of S. Ocotillo? Yes that is the portion of road from 4th Street where Safeway is that goes right by the Hospital and leads up to the Church on the top of the hill and on to Cochise College. It looks like the City tried to pave over a dirt road without grading it first. It’s scarier than many roller coasters with all its peaks and valleys!!! Every time it rains there are new potholes and their answer is to send two guys out with a bucket and a shovel to fix it. This is a joke and very ineffective. They don’t even bother to smash it down…not that it would do any good if they did. What was the City thinking when they allowed the now Bankrupt America Built home development to run all of their heavy equipment up and down that road without any monetary contributions to fix an already bad road? And what about the new electric company running all their heavy trucks up and down Jennella and Ocotillo during that construction? In the 2 ½ years that I have lived in Benson this portion of the road has gone from Bad to worse. The amount of traffic has increased ten fold. I have driven down alleys in better shape. "
BKY wrote on Dec 8, 2007 9:46 PM:
" I live down north ocotillo road and It amazes me that Richard Searle seems to be so innocent in all this. Isn't he our supervisor and should be aware of all that is going on at the cost of $380,00. No matter what is done to this road to correct problems, there will be more down the road because of the excessive traffic from the big concrete trucks which go in and out of Huachua Concrete's gravel pit. Which I might add was approved by Mr. Searle and others. All I see is more tax payer money spent to repair roads so one special business (Huachuca Concrete) can destroy it over and over again. "
tim d wrote on Dec 6, 2007 7:49 AM: