By Jane Smith
Commuters will have to endure at least another three months of construction at the Woolbright Road/Interstate 95 interchange and another month at the Hypoluxo Road interchange.
The Woolbright interchange needs more work and is expected to be finished by the end of October, said Andrea Pacini, Florida Department of Transportation spokeswoman. Construction started there in January 2016.
The Hypoluxo/I-95 interchange should be finished by the end of August, Pacini said. Work started there in June 2015.
The two projects are part of a $32.5 million, five-interchange contract that also covers Donald Ross Road in Jupiter, 10th Avenue North in Lake Worth, and Hillsboro Boulevard to Southwest 10th Street in Deerfield Beach.
Community Asphalt Corp., a division of OHL North America, was supposed to finish construction in November. That means FDOT will fine the contractor $8,401 per day since Nov. 4, Pacini said.
“When a contractor has exceeded contract time, they are not eligible to receive weather days or holidays,” she said.
“The contractor’s past performance rating is also being penalized, which can affect their ability to bid and win future FDOT work.”
The contractor has been working through challenging, unforeseen conditions and design issues on this project, said Fallon McLoughlin, OHL North America spokesman. “We are confident that these issues have been resolved and we plan to have construction completed by early fall.”
At the Woolbright interchange, the contractor has “substantial work outstanding. The contractor needs to complete the widening of the I-95 northbound off-ramp, finish the south-side widening, construct the sidewalk, install drainage and add lights and traffic signals,” she said.
That’s why the FDOT contract administrator is estimating an end of October completion date. The Hypoluxo Road interchange is nearly done, Pacini said.
“The contractor needs to finish grading, sodding and striping there,” she said.
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