249 days late: I-83 Mt. Rose makeover will not be done this year. Penalties set to increase

The Interstate 83 Mount Rose interchange is not expected to be finished by the end of this year, according to the state Department of Transportation.

And it isn't clear when the project will be done.

"We really can't speculate right now," said Erin Waters-Trasatt, a spokeswoman for PennDOT. It depends on what resources the contractor puts into it.

Meanwhile, another penalty — $14,000 per day — is expected to start this weekend because the speed zone on the highway should have been removed by Saturday.

That's in addition to the $10,710 being charged daily for missing the deadline for completion and a circuitous route that drivers still need to use to access I-83 South from Mount Rose.  

The contractor, Cherry Hill Construction Inc. of Jessup, Md., has filed a notice of claim with PennDOT disputing the timeline and noting extenuating circumstances. The company has told PennDOT that it intends to add the penalties being assessed to the claim, Waters-Trasatt said. 

PennDOT is reviewing the claim.

"We remain committed to enforcing the requirements outlined in the contract and are doing everything we can to get this project completed," she said in an email.

The contractor has not responded to repeated attempts for comment.

Contractor presented three options for completing project

Initially, the project was expected to be completed in June 2018. However, PennDOT gave the contractor a five-month extension because utility relocation prevented the contractor from starting right away, and a bridge foundation also had to be redesigned.

The $59.7 million project, started in 2015, was expected to be completed by Nov. 12, 2018.

Residents and drivers have criticized the length of the project.

Betsy Rosengrant-Stein, who put up a 'Shame on PennDOT' sign in front of her nearby business last year, was not surprised to hear that the project won't be finished by the end of the year. She said she hasn't seen any changes. 

"It doesn't seem to be getting anywhere," she said.

Rosengrant-Stein, who owns a building and remodeling company, said she worries what would happen if the contractor walked away from the project. She knows what can happen in picking up work that someone else didn't finish.

"It costs you more at the end of the day," she said.  

Cherry Hill Construction cried foul in a letter to PennDOT earlier this year, saying that significant delays were beyond its control. 

"Cherry Hill encountered delays and disruptions not of our making during the Project, and we have been very specific in identifying them and very specific in seeking contract time extensions arising from those delays/disruptions," the letter states. 

The company alleged in the letter that PennDOT did not address changed conditions at the site. For example, the company encountered a six-month delay with excavation for a ramp because of debris that was uncovered. It had to be sorted and then disposed.

Earlier this year, Michael Keiser, district executive for PennDOT District 8, said he had hoped that the project would be in its final configuration by the end of this year. Crews would return in the spring for final paving.

That will not be the case now.

The contractor has been seeking more time and money to complete the project.

In a letter obtained by the York Daily Record, dated Feb. 18, 2019, Cherry Hill proposed three options to accelerate work and finish the project. All three came with an additional cost to what the contractor already is being paid:

• Nov. 13, 2020 for $14 million
• June 30, 2020 for $17.8 million
• Dec. 31, 2019 for $19.6 million

Those deadlines would not have included final paving, the letter states. Nor would they have included any delays for unusual weather, change orders or other conditions.

PennDOT, in response, declined to accept any of the proposals, Waters-Trasatt said.

In a letter dated Feb. 28, PennDOT stated the contractor had failed to advance the project to keep it from falling further behind. It is the contractor's "responsibility to recover the project schedule," the letter states.

PennDOT has insisted on completion of the project and payment for it in accordance with the terms of the contract, Waters-Trasatt said in an email.

More:These 5 massive projects took less time than I-83/Mount Rose construction

Payments being withheld from contractor

PennDOT started withholding some payment to the contractor in May for the delays. 

The state has been withholding the penalties being assessed for each day that the project is late and for the detour loop to reach I-83 South.

The penalty for missing the deadline is $5,825 per day. The detour loop, which was expected to end on Feb. 10, is $4,885 per day. 

A letter from PennDOT warned the contractor that the long-term speed reductions on the northbound and southbound sides of the highway should end on July 20. If not, the penalty is $14,000 per day.

The assessment of the latest penalty will start on July 21, Waters-Trasatt said.