Staffing blamed for six-month sewer project delay

Herring Creek project hits another snag

By Brian Gilliland
Posted 2/6/24

GEORGETOWN — Staffing shortages and minor weather delays are to blame for a 210-day extension to the Herring Creek water and sewer main project the Sussex County Council approved on Tuesday.

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Staffing blamed for six-month sewer project delay

Herring Creek project hits another snag

Posted

GEORGETOWN — Staffing shortages and minor weather delays are to blame for a 210-day extension to the Herring Creek water and sewer main project the Sussex County Council approved on Tuesday.

Part of a larger overall Herring Creek project, this phase goes back to a bid opening in March 2022 for about six miles total of water and sewer piping plus pumps and other assorted materials, and was scheduled to take about a year from the bid opening date.

Of the 210 requested days granted by the government, 11 were for work stoppages due to weather conditions. The balance of the time was due to staffing shortages, Hans Medlarz, county engineer, said.

“The main reason for the time extension,” Mr. Medlarz began. “Is the inability of all of our big contractors to retain crews sufficient to maintain schedule. Never have I seen in my career anything like this.”

He said the contractor, Teal Construction out of Dover, struggled to maintain two full working crews, and has recently lost another high-ranking worker to another company.

In a letter requesting the extension dated Jan. 3, Teal Representative John Stant III wrote “our original plan, when we bid this project, was to have two crews working simultaneously to meet the project deadline. However, due to current work force conditions, we have been unable to properly maintain current crews and have also been unable to hire additional crews.”

While there is no direct cost associated with this extension, as in there isn’t going to be another payment to Teal Construction based on this action, the county will have to allocate additional funds to a different contractor, Whitman Requardt and Associates in Georgetown, for inspection and other services.

The council allocated about $251,000 to the Whitman Requardt contract to cover the extended construction time on this project and at least two other contracts. Mr. Medlarz noted there are several contracts underway, and this amount was a contingency based on various services.

“It most likely will not be fully used,” he said of the payment allocation.

The project is now slated to be completed at the end of August 2024. The council’s decisions are contingent on USDA approval, but no timeline was given for said approval.    

Staff writer Brian Gilliland can be reached at 410-603-3737 or bgilliland@iniusa.org.

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