BUSTED! FDOT Denies Recycled Sheet Piling Being Used On Boulevard Construction
Is FDOT allowing Roosevelt Boulevard contractors to use rusty, old, recycled sheet piling in the construction of the new seawall on Roosevelt Boulevard?
Alerted by a tipster, we rushed to the Boulevard Tuesday to see a forklift operator unload heaps of rusted, broken, bent out of shape sheet piling near the seawall. To be sure, we compared those with some new ones, also found on the site, which are all coated with epoxy and perfectly straight.
New Sheet Pile
Is someone trying to cut corners on our seawall?
So, we called the FDOT appointed engineering firm, AMEC. After a short cat-and-mouse conversation, we asked Jackie Hart, the lead engineer, if she would let a contractor build her house with used 2 X 4’s or cover her roof with recycled and rusty tin sheets. She basically hung up the phone.
We also received an email from FDOT spokesman Dean Walters stating that it was “absolutely not true” that old salvaged sheet pile had been delivered to the site.
However, we do have the photo above and a video showing the delivery of some rusty, bent, cut up pieces of old sheet pile.
We received this is an email from FDOT spokesperson, Dean Walters:
“On wall #2, the sheet piles that were originally fabricated for a 70’ section (at the marina) could not be used because they were not long enough to reach the ‘rock’ which was at a deeper level than anticipated.”
The recycled sheet piles are in fact longer than the epoxy coated piles that have been used in the construction of the new wall. So are the old recycled sheet piles the “longer” ones meant to reach the cap rock in wall #2?
We are being told that the strength of a seawall comes from the interlocking of the piles. If the grooves are damaged, they might not lock together properly which could create a weakness in how well the wall will withstand the intense pressure created by trucks and cars that use the adjacent roadway.
Whatever the case may be, the reader is invited to take a look at our video of those old sheet piles (which officially do not exist). The video clearly shows the forklift operator unloading the sheet piles, which are obviously bent; some have pieces of metal missing from the ends.
The photo heading this article and the video of the mysterious old sheet piling are now added to the list of concerns and the record of stone-walling by FDOT.
The reader may remember that FDOT spokesperson Dean Walters had promised US 1 radio they would provide a point-by-point response to our May 24th article which, after extensive investigation into City of Key West inspector files and FDOT records, revealed issues with generous doling out of excusable “rain days”, shoddy work, absenteeism, cover-up of sewer sub-contractor’s record of alleged corruption and more.
So far no responses have been revealed. We received this answer from Walters to our inquiry as to whether FDOT was still planning on responding:
“We have factual responses to all issues in the article. If any of these resolved issues come up in the future, we can now respond.”
We’re not quite sure what that is supposed to mean, but “resolved” hardly describes the status of the situation.
In fact the only response FDOT has given as yet is that Key Westers are basically unemployable because none of us can pass a background check.
We conducted interviews on the Boulevard in our broken Spanish since no one spoke English. Nobody appeared to be from Key West. We certainly didn’t find the twelve Key West trainees FDOT talked about before the project began.
One foreman, who has been working for de Moya Group (the General Contractor) for 8 years asked to remain anonymous, but told us he thought the company could finish the job in two months if they wanted to. He also said he understood the frustration people were experiencing and had come across it firsthand when someone from a passing car hit him in the back with an apple!
One of his jobs is to collect samples for concrete strength analysis of the seawall cap between Eisenhower and Palm Avenue. The analysis will hold up the work on the road foundation for 28 days, he said. He also explained that once the analysis is complete, the section would still need work involving curbs, drainage, sidewalks, asphalt, markings, lighting, and signs.
The official deadline for completion of this section has already been revised from end of February to June 14, 2013. According to FDOT the project is now only 40 days late and de Moya Group is actually catching up. Let’s hope so.
In the meantime, State Representative Holly Raschein, who met with some Roosevelt Boulevard business owners recently, says things are tough. For example McDonalds has shown losses in the neighborhood of one million dollars since the work began in April 2012.
See our back issue coverage of Roosevelt Boulevard reconstruction here.
UPDATE: HERE IS THE EMAIL EXCHANGE BETWEEN KWTN AND FDOT:
From: Dean Walters [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, June 12, 2013 3:15 PM
To: ‘naja girard’
Cc: ‘Hart, Jacki’; ‘Romano, David C’; Phinizy, Charlie; ‘Sandy Walters’
Subject: RE: sorry I missed your call
Please see below.
Dean Walters
Public Information Specialist
Key West * Miami * Hollywood * Fort Myers
305-849-1474 Cell
www.swcinc.net
www.fdotmonroe.com
From: naja girard [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, June 11, 2013 6:04 PM
To: Dean Walters
Subject: Re: sorry I missed your call
Hello Dean,
I do have a couple of questions:
1. You had mentioned in an interview (I think it was with the Key West Citizen) that the contractor was having difficulties in finding local persons who were able to get past the required background check. Could you elaborate on which part of the background check locals have been unable to pass? For example is it education, criminal record, drug testing, etc. Could you provide specifics for the applications submitted to the contractor by local residents: such as the number of applications submitted, the number of persons who failed to pass the background check and for what particular reason they failed the background check. Have any locals been hired on this project at all? Any specific information on hiring or not hiring will have to come from DeMoya Group directly since it is they who are doing the hiring.
2. On US 1 radio you stated that the FDOT was working on responses to our May 24th article and that you expected to be able to report on that last Monday on US 1 radio. I listened to your interview but the topic did not come up. Is the FDOT still planning on addressing the concerns that were addressed in the article? Will your responses be in the form of a written report and if so could we please be furnished with a copy. We have factual responses to all issues in the article. If any of these resolved issues come up in the future, we can now respond.
3. We received a tip regarding some old salvaged sheet piles having been delivered to the worksite today (Tuesday). Is the contractor planning on putting those into the new seawall or using those elsewhere on the project? Does the FDOT have a policy on contractor’s use of recylced materials? If so, what is that policy. I don’t know where this ‘tip’ came from, but the engineers have assured me that it is absolutely not true. On wall #2, the sheet piles that were originally fabricated for a 70’ section (at the marina) could not be used because they were not long enough to reach the ‘rock’ which was at a deeper level than anticipated. Therefore, they are being used for the tie-backs in the new design. They are not old ‘salvaged’ piles.
Regards,
Dean
Thank you.
Naja Girard
Key West The Newspaper
(The Blue Paper)
If your newspaper were to contact all the other Florida papers and ask them what questionable state sponsored projects are going on in their areas you might be surprised.
WHAT A STORY!