City puts in claim on grout damage

Insurer, contractor in Washington Avenue sinkhole repair notified

KINGSTON, N.Y. » The city has notified the insurance company and contractor involved in the repair of the Washington Avenue sewer tunnel that it has a claim regarding grout that has been blocking the pipe since the work was performed, Kingston’s corporation counsel said.

“The city is still investigating the extent of the damage,” Corporation Counsel Kevin Bryant said Friday. He added that while

the investigation is ongoing, “the city will be pursuing all involved in the damage.”

During repair of the sinkhole that opened on Washington Avenue in April 2011, a new lining was installed in a portion of the existing sewer pipe.

Part of that lining was damaged and collapsed during the grouting process that followed. That allowed the grouting material to partially fill the tunnel and block the flow along a portion of the city’s sanitary sewer system on Washington Avenue.

The city has been using a rented pump to bypass the blocked portion of the system.

During a meeting Tuesday,

the Common Council adopted resolutions authorizing the city to borrow $1.1 million to pay a local contractor to remove the grout blockage.

Bryant said a performance bond was issued as part of the repair work on the Washington Avenue sinkhole. He said the insurance company holding that bond and the contractor who did the grout work, GEO Solutions Inc. of

New Kensington, Pennsylvania, have been notified of the city’s claim.

The city is still awaiting some information, but is pursuing the matter, Bryant said.

Timothy Moot, a principal with the firm Clark Patterson Lee, previously told the council that Arold Construction Co. of Kingston was the sole bidder for the grout removal work, offering a base of $833,250. The

bid included a provision for an additional $30,000 payment if the company has to use a second method to remove the grout blocking the tunnel, he said.

The $1.1 million being borrowed would cover the costs of the repairs, as well as contingency expenses that may arise. It also would be used to pay Clark Patterson Lee approximately $90,000 for construction administration

and observation services during the repair.

Clark Patterson Lee designed the project that Arold bid on. With the newly authorized borrowing, the city’s costs related to the sinkhole have risen to more than $9 million.

Additional costs could result from a lawsuit filed by neighbors of the sinkhole who say the repair work damaged their homes.