WHEELING - The Safeco Surety Co. is financially liable for seeing that the Wheeling Tunnel project - bid out at a cost of almost $6 million before the project was halted - is completed.
That's why it's difficult for state officials to tell the insurance company what contractor it should use to finish the work, said Brent Walker, spokesman for the West Virginia Division of Highways.
Negotiations continued Tuesday between the WVDOH and Safeco regarding terms surrounding the restart of work on the Wheeling Tunnel. Safeco is the bond holder for the Velotta Co. of Sharon Center, Ohio, and Velotta Co. President Robert Velotta has indicated his company plans to return to the project.
All contractors who bid to do state projects are required to be bonded, Walker said. In the event there is a future problem with the project and the contractor's work, the surety company is held responsible.
Work on the eastbound tube of the Wheeling Tunnel - which started in January 2007 and was to be completed in May that year - continued until November, when work was halted by the WVDOH.
"In this particular case, the situation all revolves around how it all went down and how we cut the contract short," Walker said. "We didn't like the way the contractor was doing the work, so we canceled the contract. The discussions then turned to the surety company.
"When those situations happen with a project, the surety company is liable for it. Because of this, the agency has a hard time telling them who they can choose to get the work done. But we can insist on expectations, and that these be in writing."
Because the Safeco Surety Co. is assuring the project, it has taken over the project "from a responsibility standpoint," according to Walker. The company is financially responsible for at least the amount of the bid contract, he added.
The Velotta Co. won the contract in 2006 to renovate both tubes of the Wheeling Tunnel with a bid of $5,776,989.
Problems removing old tiles threw the project over schedule as the work was being completed by Massaro Industries of Oakmont, Pa. New tiles didn't stick to the tunnel's concrete subwalls, and the job was put on hold while experts assessed the problem.
The unfinished tunnel was reopened Nov. 15, and Velotta hasn't been paid for work since October.
Tiling still needs to be completed within the eastbound tube, as does electrical work and the placement of a closed-circuit television monitoring system.
It is not uncommon in such situations for a surety company to request their client be allowed to complete the work, especially if the bondholder believes that problems with the project can be worked out, Walker said.
"Choosing the original contractor can be in the surety company's best interest, but they are free to choose because they are on the line," he noted.