County to consider damage settlement
WAYNESBURG – Greene County commissioners expect to approve a settlement today that will allow the county to proceed with repairs to the historic Pollocks Mill Bridge, a section of which collapsed in September under an overweight tanker truck.
The commissioners voted at their agenda meeting Wednesday to consider approval of a damage claim release with Buccaneer Enterprises Inc. of Buckhannon, W.Va., the trucking company whose driver caused the damage.
A section of the 136-year-old bridge, which crosses Ten Mile Creek between Morgan and Jefferson townships, collapsed Sept. 28 when a truck carrying water to a natural gas drilling site attempted to cross it.
The bridge, which has a steel structure and a wooden deck, had a posted weight limit of 4 tons. The truck weighed about 16.5 tons, state police said.
The settlement is for $245,000. The county’s engineer, Widmer Engineering Inc., earlier estimated the costs of the repairs at about $280,000, said Jeff Marshall, county chief clerk.
The company, however, was unwilling to accept some of the costs included in the engineering estimate, such as the 15 percent contingency fund, Marshall said.
“We’re hoping the actual bid comes in close to (the settlement amount),” he said. However, the county may have to contribute some money to complete the project, Marshall said.
Once the settlement is approved, the county will authorize Widmer Engineering to prepare bid specifications, Marshall said. Work could begin this summer.
The driver of the truck, Jason W. Strawderman, 38, of Beverly, W.Va., was hauling water from the Monongahela River to an EQT well site on Pollocks Mill Road.
He told police his global positioning system led him to the bridge and he did not see any weight restriction signs. The rear wheels of the truck broke through the bridge’s wooden deck. It took two days to remove the vehicle.
Strawderman later pleaded guilty to disobeying a traffic control device and operating a vehicle that exceeded the weight restriction. He was fined $10,297.