“This could continue to go on, why be the low bidder if you are not going to have the job completed on time," said Thunder Bay Transportation Authority Board President Tony Suszek
A transportation company operating in Alpena and Montmorency County is now penalizing the contractor who is building their new facility.
Thunder Bay Transportation Authority is seeking a $1,000 per day fee from Oak City Contracting, they say the building project has been unjustly delayed for too long.
Oak City has been building the new facility since June of last year, it was supposed to be completed last month.
"We gave them a little buffer zone from June 7 to August 1. We think we gave them enough time and we are flexible enough, but it gets to a point where there’s good weather and no work being done," said Suszek.
The Thunder Bay Transportation Authority Board says construction on the facility has gone on too long.
After consulting with engineers, the authority decided to charge a daily fee beginning on Tuesday, August 1. The option is written in the contract between the two parties.
"There wasn’t any work schedule delays or anything like that, it was just the contractor got behind. There’s parameters you have to go through depending on what the delay were or are for, but we feel per the contract we met those stipulations," explained Suszek.
Money collected would go back into the MDOT grant, which was used to fund the close to $7 million project.
With a mid-September completion date building delays could affect those who use the buses this fall. That includes students.
"We have a number of students who relay on our transportation contract with TBTA to get to school each day and that means having established routes. They are set to the minute for pickup and delivery times and that will be based on this point on the current site. So if that operation shifts in a month or two or longer, that’s going to create disruption for our students and their lives," says AMA-ESD Superintendent Scott Reynolds.
We’ve reached out to Oak City Contracting and have yet to hear back.
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