Staff-built bridges unusual for large counties, officials say

FAYETTEVILLE -- Washington County uses its own employees to build bridges instead of contracting the job primarily to spend less money on the same work, a Road Department supervisor said last week, following questions from county officials about the quality of county bridge building.

"The big deal is the county can build bridges at a cheaper cost," said Shawn Shrum, the assistant superintendent. "That's not saying there are -- like the accusations being made -- corners being cut. But usually our wages are less, and we're not trying to make a profit."

The county is unusual among Arkansas' largest counties in taking on bridge jobs in-house -- Benton, Pulaski and Sebastian counties hire other companies to do the work, their road department heads said. The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department also contracts with others to build its bridges, with a department inspector on site every day of work.

Based on recent projects in Benton County, Washington County could be saving hundreds of thousands of dollars using its own people.

The Bridge Business

Washington County is being sued by a Road Department employee who claims he was punished after pointing out unsafe building practices at the Harvey Dowell and Stonewall bridges. A video released last month, evidence in the lawsuit, appears to show rebar in the supports of Stonewall Bridge near Prairie Grove wasn't attached to the surrounding concrete. County Judge Marilyn Edwards also believes Harvey Dowell Bridge could have similar problems.

Whether other bridges are affected is unknown, but up to three impending investigations by county and state agencies could look into the question.

County Judge Marilyn Edwards last month ordered the incomplete Stonewall Bridge to be demolished and redone, while the Harvey Dowell Bridge near Fayetteville was placed under a 3-ton weight limit, with reinforcing work possible.

After the video's release, Edwards said no one in the Road Department was specially trained to build bridges, although Edwards and other officials have said the county has built its bridges for as long as they can remember.

For bridges like Harvey Dowell and Stonewall, the county relies on civil engineers to design bridges and answer questions that come up during the projects. Otherwise it uses what Shrum called "pre-fab" bridges, or pre-made, 30-foot pieces the bridge crew simply puts in place.

"The concrete tops are set on, and you build the end wall," he said. "Most of them are pretty small bridges."

Most of the 33 bridges built in the past two decades are this kind of structure, built without specific engineering plans and often reaching 30 or 60 feet across, according to bridge records provided by Shrum.

Harvey Dowell, on the other hand, spans about 180 feet, while Stonewall will eventually span 160 feet, making them the longest bridges built in the county since 1995. The two are more complex than most county projects, Shrum said. They were designed by Myers-Beatty Engineering, which provided plans that specify pier dimensions, end wall angles, types of rebar used and other details.

The bridges cost or are expected to cost roughly $450,000 each with the remedial work factored in, according to the Road Department and Dan Short, Edwards' chief of staff.

Savings and Costs

For a cost comparison, replacing Benton County's 180-foot War Eagle Bridge could cost more than $1.5 million with a contractor, officials there have said. The Osage Creek Bridge could cost about the same as Harvey Dowell and Stonewall to rebuild but is 60 feet shorter.

"It is considerably cheaper" to use county employees because they'd get paid no matter what work they're doing, said Jeff Clark, who oversees Benton County's Road Department. The pricetag increase from a contractor on a bridge or road project could range anywhere from 35 percent to 70 percent, he said. "In some cases, it'd probably be a 100 percent mark-up."

On the other hand, devoting county employees to bridges means they're not working on other projects, Clark and Shrum said. Bridge crews do other work during the course of a bridge's construction, but the rebuilding of Stonewall has added months to the job, Shrum said.

"We were hoping this month," he said. "Now I'm thinking July, hopefully. The weather will play a part in that."

About six of the department's 82 employees would be working on Stonewall or Harvey Dowell on a typical day, Shrum said, ranging from newcomers to people with decades of experience.

Other Counties

Benton and other counties contract out despite possible savings, using bridge crews mainly for maintenance and repair, not construction. The main reason is a lack of expertise, county officials said.

"We hire contractors who are required to have all of the credentials, been in business for X number of years -- we ask all of that, so we don't just get some newbie coming in," said Barbara Richard, director of Pulaski County's roads. "We just did not feel that we had the expertise that a contractor would have. If you only do a bridge, you know, every two or three years, you're not going to have those employees sitting around."

Washington County isn't alone in the state doing its own work, said Chris Villines, executive director of the Arkansas Association of Counties.

"They're going to be across the map on that one," he said, noting some very rural counties use old railcars placed on their sides as simple, durable bridge supports. The association doesn't track how many counties build bridges, Villines added, but Washington County's relatively high population and need for bridges could be part of why the county goes the in-house route.

Sebastian County Judge David Hudson, whose county includes Fort Smith, echoed the idea Washington County has more work to do than most, which could make contracting unfeasible.

"We have fewer road miles and bridges," he said. "The more mountainous counties are also going to have more challenges with the roads and bridges."

Budget Concerns

Some Washington County officials have questioned the county's involvement in bridges amid the recent controversy, pointing to Edwards' comments no one was trained to build complex bridges.

"The question automatically comes to my mind: Why are we building bridges?" Tom Lundstrum, a Republican justice of the peace from Elm Springs, said earlier this month. "It just may be we should do away with the bridge department altogether."

But contracting out will take more money, Shrum said. The Road Department's $8.6 million budget this year was pared from $9.3 million last year, one of several cuts across the county.

The portion of the Road Department's budget going to bridges varies each year, Shrum said. For one example, Harvey Dowell was built in 2013 and was the only bridge worked on that year, when the department had a $9.1 million budget.

The Quorum Court this year has been reluctant to add even tens of thousands of dollars to any budget.

"I have no objection to doing it ourselves, as long as we know we have someone on staff that knows what they're doing," Lundstrum said. "Otherwise, I'll insist to the Quorum Court that we start contracting."

Ann Harbison, Democrat justice from West Fork, said maybe the county should contract some bridges and build others.

Rural bridges have been one of her highest priorities in office.

"We don't have a lot of money right now," she said. "We'll just have to see what the investigation brings up."

NW News on 04/20/2015