From the February 28, 1985 edition of The Salem Times-Register
Construction of a cloverleaf at Route 311 and Interstate 81 in Salem, which was to have been completed this spring, will probably not be finished until the end of the year, highway officials say.
As of February, 53 percent of the dollar value of the $3,695,000 project had been completed with only 20 days of a 400-day contract remaining, according to H.L. Howard, assistant engineer of the Salem District Department of Highways and Transportation.
The contractor, E.F. Blankenship Company of Salem, is now on a winter schedule but will have to return to a regular work schedule by April 1, by which time its contract days will probably have been used up, Howard said.
Blankenship must complete the southbound lane bridge, where crews are now working, tear down and rebuild the northbound lane bridge, remove the detour bridge and complete the ramps and accesses before the project is finished, Howard said. Traffic will have to be rerouted two or three times as work progresses.
Blankenship blames a subcontractor for delays and has gone to court to protect the company’s interests. A $728,980.82 suit by Blankenship in Salem Circuit Court against a Maryland surety company holding payment and performance bonds for J & H Grading Co. Inc., of Dry Fork, alleges the subcontractor broke terms of its contract with Blankenship, in these particulars:
That J & H Grading, which Blankenship hired to do about $708,000 of the $3.7 million project, failed to perform work punctually, failed to repair defective work, and used insufficient materials, workmen and equipment to meet work schedules.
That J & H Grading performed its work in a “negligent and unskillful manner” and failed to pay for labor, materials and equipment as it had agreed to do in its contract with Blankenship.
Upon receipt of notice from the highway department that it might be removed from the job, Blankenship directed J & H Grading to remove its men and equipment from the site, papers in the suit say, adding: Because of the default by J & H Grading, Blankenship had to pay for labor, equipment and materials for the subcontractor and will be delayed “in excess of 11 months” in completing the project.
The delay has caused Blankenship to be barred from bidding on state contracts until this project is complete and will cost Blankenship a $400-a-day penalty for each day it exceeds its contract, according to the suit.
Walter Ohar, an assistant attorney general representing the highway department in the Salem District said the litigation should not affect the progress of the construction.
The action involves a conflict between the prime contractor and the subcontractor, Ohar said, and the highway department will not join in, “though we may be dragged in.”
The highway department’s position is that it has a contract with Blankenship, Ohar said, explaining that when the highways department’s 400-day contract with Blankenship expires, the department will begin charging the contractor $400 a day as stipulated in the contract. The daily charge is a standard contract remedy typical of such projects.
“The department’s prime interest is to complete the project as expeditiously as possible,” Ohar said.
Carl Coe, staff counsel for the Richmond branch of Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland, reserved comment on the allegations against J & H Grading. The attorney said his office was served with the motion for judgment, which he forwarded Tuesday to the firm’s home offices in Baltimore. The home office will decide “what is to be done” and the allegations will be answered within 21 days as required by law, Coe said.
John Jeffress of J & H Grading Co. could not be reached for comment on the allegations in the lawsuit.
-Prepared by Shelly Koon
