Delays on 10th Ave. project "utterly ridiculous," city official says

Delays due to an absent concrete crew as well as less-than-perfect work have left the city frustrated with Werner Construction, the firm contracted to finished work on 10th Ave.

"As it's no secret to the community we've had some issues with the 10th Ave project," said City Manager Gary Person at Tuesday's city council meeting. "John (Hehnke, public services director) did extend an invitation to a representative from Werner to be here tonight to kind of help explain some of the issues."

The invitation was not accepted.

The city deserves some explanation for some of these issues, Person said.

Mayor Wendall Gaston asked what would be done about the uneven curb on 10th Ave. between Illinois St. and Jackson St. that was previously poured.

"The curb and gutter that's there is going to remain in place," Hehnke said. "It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but it is acceptable."

The city has attempted multiple times to discover why the concrete crew still hasn't arrived.

"The engineer and I had very stern words with the project manager from Werner Construction on Monday," Hehnke said.

Werner's concrete crew was scheduled to be in Sidney weeks ago. The firm again told Hehnke that the crew would arrive this week, but they didn't show.

"The crew that was supposed to be here on Wednesday will not be here until next week," he said.

Hehnke and the project engineer agree that there should be additional accountability for these delays.

"Six weeks and not getting 300 feet is utterly ridiculous," Hehnke said.

The work on 10th Ave. is a federal aid project to replace the curb, gutter and pavement on 10th Ave. between Osage St. and Illinois St. This project also involves improvements to the storm sewers along 10th Ave. as well as replacement of the outer portion of the sidewalk on that stretch of road to align with ADA compliance.

The project has a total price tag of around $1.3 million, but the state pays 80 percent of the cost while the city pays 20 percent.

This first phase of the project was set to be complete by mid-July, but is no longer on schedule.