Bentonville Runway Project Wraps Up

BENTONVILLE -- The runway improvement project at the municipal airport is done, 32 days over the time allotted in the construction contract.

That caused Morrison Shipley Engineers to exceed its time outlined in the construction observation contract. The City Council approved a $16,000 change order at its last meeting to reimburse Morrison Shipley for its construction observation overrun costs.

The money will come from charging TNT Inc., the contractor, $500 per day for every day it worked beyond the scheduled completion date, according to agenda documents.

The runway safety area was improved to meet Federal Aviation Administration requirements. The runway safety area is 150 feet wide from the center of the runway. The project included correcting the slopes' angles on each side and building a retaining wall at the north end where the runway bumps against Lake Bentonville.

Work on the runway safety area began March 17 and was expected to take 90 days. It took 129 days before substantial completion was granted July 23, according to Ben Peters, city engineer and airport manager.

"Final completion has not yet been granted, but is anticipated soon," he said.

The main delay with the project was the weather, said Greg Shipley with Morrison Shipley Engineers. TNT only received credit for inclement weather days that were in addition to expected weather days for a month, he said.

"Even though the contract time was over, we are pleased with TNT's efforts," Shipley said. "This was a difficult project given weather and time and safety constraints; and even with these, the airport received a very good project."

Construction cost was $564,000.

NW News on 09/16/2014

Upcoming Events