Dobson Brothers, I am Sick of them

[Outofdodge]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

2007- DOBSON BROTHERS CONSTRUCTION CO. IS SUPPOSE TO HAVE ALL OF WYATT EARP BLVD. FINISHED.

I don't think that will happen. At their present rate of speed, maybe August 10th?, September 10th?

What difference does it make if it's 8/10/07 or 9/10/07? Since you said only they were supposed to be finished in 2007, both of those dates happen before 12/31/2007.

Published 7/17/2007

By RACHEL DAVIS
rdavis@gctelegram.com

The road construction project stretching from the intersection of Campus Drive to the bypass along Kansas Avenue has been stalled because the contractor assigned to it is on another job, city officials said this morning.

Steve Cottrell, Garden City engineer, said the contractor, Dobson Brothers Co. out of Lincoln, Neb., stopped work in Garden City to finish up the Wyatt Earp Boulevard project in Dodge City and is expected back at the end of the week to finish the Campus Drive/Kansas Avenue project.

The Garden City project began May 14.

Cottrell said he is trying to stay optimistic and hopes the contractor can finish the project by the mid-November deadline.

He said the project is part of a partnership between the city and the Kansas Department of Transportation.

Cottrell said the city's share of the project is $889,000 and KDOT funded $1,448,600 for the construction. The total cost of the project is $2,337,600.

Kirk Hutchinson, public affairs manager for KDOT's southwest region, said if the contractor fails to meet the deadline set forth in the bid, the company will be penalized $1,375 per day for each day it goes past the deadline.

He said the contractor has 120 working days to finish the Garden City project.

However, the contractor is not penalized for not working on days of bad weather or weather-related conditions like the dirt work turning into mud.

The full scope of the project begins at the intersection of Campus Drive and Kansas Avenue.

Cottrell said concrete pavement, five lanes wide, will start from East Campus Drive and end near the Target/Burger King driveway. From that area another stretch of concrete pavement five lanes wide will continue to the bypass. The rest of Kansas Avenue will be resurfaced with asphalt and curbs and gutters replaced where needed. He also said the avenue will be marked for five lanes of traffic.

Matt Allen, assistant Garden City manager, said his office has received complaints about the construction and is frustrated with the delay.

"The project started and now it just sits there for weeds to grow in the dirt work," he said.

The project manager for Dobson Brothers Co. could not be reached for comment this morning.

Cottrell said the contractor did not mention the Dodge City job in its bid for Garden City.

However, Cottrell said even if he had known about the Dodge City job, he still would have hired the company.

"I thought they were a big enough company with enough employees to cover both jobs," Cottrell said. "I guess that isn't the case."

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I was thinking that you fine people in Dodge City would like to know what is happening to us over here in Garden City.

[lurker]

Thanks Un...

"I feel your pain"...

Delayed Completion (means Fines for Dobson Brothers Construction Co.)

Wyatt Earp construction project over one month behind schedule

Project manager Matt Martin, who took over the project in May, said there were only a few items left to complete before Wyatt Earp was finished. He said it would definitely be completed by Aug. 17, although they were hoping to have it done before then.

Martin said the project has had three prior managers, so he didn't know the specifics of each cause for delay. However, the laying of concrete was waylaid at the beginning of the year because of an unexpected cold snap. Further delays came from an unusually wet Spring. (January and February were cold months. Who would have guessed that might happen?)

Slattery said the city's contract with Dobson Brothers states that for every work day past July 8 that work isn't complete, the city will fine the construction company $300.

However, if Dobson Brothers can prove to the city that the delays were beyond their control, they won't be assessed a fine for the lost days.

Last week the Lincoln, Neb. construction firm left a similar project in Garden City at a stand-still to focus labor on completing Dodge City's project.

Steve Cottrel, Garden City engineer, said the crews and subcontractors in Garden were absent for close to a month to aid in the Wyatt Earp construction.

"I have to remain optimistic that they'll be able to make up for lost time," Cottrel said.

The Garden City project received funding from the Kansas Department of Transportation.

According to Kirk Hutchinson, the southwest Kansas public affairs manager for KDOT, if Dobson Brothers goes past its prescribed deadline in Garden they will also receive a fine from the states.

Hutchinson estimated it would cost the company thousands of dollars per day.

Because KDOT had no administrative oversight in Dodge's construction, they are not involved in assessing fees.

The second phase of the Wyatt Earp construction, stretching west from 14th Avenue to Matt Down Lane, is slated to begin next year. Slattery said bids would begin this fall for the year-long reconstruction project.

Reach Mark Vierthaler at (620) 408-9932 or e-mail him at mark.vierthaler@dodgeglobe.com

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Lets see, does not being on the job count as "the delays were beyond their control, they won't be assessed a fine for the lost days." What is happening in Garden City is what happened to Dodge City. Dobson Brothers was somewhere else when they should have been here attending to business.

[TexKan]

Iread that and thought a few hundred$$ is nothing for fines. Funny that they would leave an area that imposes thousands in fines to complete a project that only imposes hundreds........... wierd but typical.

[Value Pack]

I could be wrong on this but, you don't just have a fine from the City.

According to the Daily Globe, their days ran out on July 8th. There is also the cost of all of the traffic control devices out there plus who is paying for the people inspecting Dobson's work.

You add up all these other items, signs, barrels, inspectors, flashing arrows and the like and you are looking at a fair amount of money everyday. That $300.00 a day is just the tip of the iceberg. I doubt that the City of Dodge is paying the cost of those items after July 8.