WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES DECEMBER 28, 2017 3
DOT defaults with Metropolitan bridge contractor
BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@QNS.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
For residents of Ridgewood and
Middle Village, the reconstruction
of a railroad bridge in a
high-traffi c area has caused headaches
for commuters aft er repeated delays to
the project, and things just got worse.
On Friday, a Department of Transportation
spokesperson confi rmed to
QNS that its contract with Mugrose
Construction to rebuild the Metropolitan
Avenue and Fresh Pond Road
bridge over the Montauk line of the
Long Island Rail Road has defaulted.
The project that was once projected
to have its fi rst phase completed by
January 2018 has now been completely
stalled.
The DOT cited delays that were beyond
its control, and is now working
closely with the bonding company to
get the project completed as quickly as
possible, the spokesperson said.
Construction contracts typically
involve a contract surety bond to
protect the owner of the property
(DOT, in this case) from the risks
associated with construction projects.
The bonding company assumes
that burden, and in the event of a
defaulted contract their options are
to re-bid the job for completion, bring
in a replacement contractor, provide
fi nancial or technical assistance to the
existing contractor or pay the penal
sum of the bond.
Therefore, a defaulted contract
doesn’t necessarily mean the contractor
has been ousted, but the DOT
off ered no further details.
QNS has not yet heard back from
Mugrose Construction aft er a request
for comment.
Vincent Arcuri, chairman of
Community Board 5 and a retired
construction manager, said that he
remembers working on a project in
which the contract was defaulted, and
the bonding company ended up paying
for all of the expenses and the project
was completed on time. He has also
seen the opposite, when a surety bond
wasn’t legitimate.
“I’ve seen in the past where they
produce a piece of paper saying they
were bonded, but in reality they just
bought the piece of paper, and that’s
fraud,” Arcuri said.
Arcuri added that it appears Mugrose
wasn’t qualifi ed for this work
based on their previous experience.
But however this plays out, he said,
there will be further delays in the
project while the DOT is communicating
with the bonding company, and
especially if they have to bring in a
new contractor or produce a new bond.
This project has been hitting bumps
in the road from the very beginning, as
noted in a QNS/Ridgewood Times report
in November. Mugrose was scheduled
to fi rst begin working on the bridge
deck replacement in July of 2016, but
there were setbacks in reviewing and
approving the design of the bridge. Another
delay occurred that October when
the contractor was unable to secure the
appropriate permits for the work.
In 2017, the project was delayed once
again to accommodate unforeseen
repairs to the MTA M train line.
Mugrose was also the company that
off ered the lowest bid for the project.
File photo
The railroad bridge at Metropolitan Avenue and Fresh Pond Road, as
shown prior to construction
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