Soaring costs for the Steamship Authority’s expansive Woods Hole terminal reconstruction have reached new heights.
Soaring costs for the Steamship Authority’s expansive Woods Hole terminal reconstruction have reached new heights — just as construction reaches new depths — with the underwater portion of the project officially over budget after a frustrated board of governors reluctantly approved a $3.5 million change order at their meeting Tuesday.
The dockside rebuild, originally bid and contracted at $43.6 million with Jay Cashman Inc. of Quincy, has seen more than $13 million in change orders since it began nearly three years ago. And the marine construction phase continues to drag on, driving the price tag to about $56 million — about $3 million over original estimates.
Further cost overruns are expected.
Begun in 2018, the project to overhaul three ferry slips, transfer bridges and loading areas in the Woods Hole terminal will also experience significant delays, according to SSA senior managers, with construction now set to continue for an additional season.
“Obviously, we would want this to come in at or below budget,” SSA general manager Bob Davis said at the meeting. “But . . . going into the project there were a lot of unknowns. We didn’t know what was underneath the pier.”
Underwater obstructions in the Woods Hole harbor have flummoxed contractors since the project’s inception, with unforeseen rocks, boulders and other sea floor challenges accounting for most of the project’s change orders.
The latest $3.5 million change order comes after builders encountered a large boulder field in the vicinity of slip one, preventing Cashman from driving several monopiles to their designed depths.
Environmental engineers have redesigned portions of the project, including two monopiles, to avoid the construction obstacles, according to SSA managers, accounting for the added costs. But the $3.5 million does not include expected additional costs for a third monopile and changes to a stone groin.
The work will take place over a five-month period, from September through January 2022, with the added mobilization and demobilization periods also a factor in cost estimates.
“We had done sample drawings, but we couldn’t fill the entire site,” Mr. Davis said. “The time factor of this, it has now taken an additional season to accomplish. There’s a cost to that.”
The project is funded mainly through bonds issued by the Steamship Authority, as well as replacement funds generated by boat line operating revenue.
Initial marine-side cost estimates were developed by architects, consultants and in-house engineers, according to Mr. Davis, and included a five per cent contingency cost. Mr. Davis said the contingency should have been higher.
“Obviously in hindsight that contingency has been identified as a much larger percentage than what we had,” he said.
Meanwhile, early schematic designs for the landside portion of the project place cost estimates at approximately $31 million, according to a presentation Tuesday, including a permanent terminal building, expanded landscaping, bike parking and a dog park. The overall project cost is now pegged at more than $90 million.
The skyrocketing costs on the marine side rankled SSA governors.
“I’m definitely disturbed by this,” Falmouth governor Kathryn Wilson said at the meeting. “It appears as if the Steamship Authority is being taken advantage of.”
Mr. Davis said the change order initially was nearer $6 million, but that senior managers were able to negotiate it down to $3.5 million after evaluating the request from Cashman. He recommended approving the request, calling it a fair cost estimate — and noting that a rejection would lead to further delays, and higher long-term costs.
“Obviously, this is not something we take lightly, especially the scope of this change order,” Mr. Davis said. “We have been having multiple conversations with Cashman regarding this.”
Sensing that their hands were tied, unhappy governors voted 3-1 to approve the request and vowed to have better oversight on capital projects in the future. Ms. Wilson was the lone nay vote. New Bedford governor Moira Tierney, who has been a vocal critic of the change orders, was not in attendance.
“Let’s just move forward, lick our wounds, and get the job done,” Barnstable governor Bob Jones said.
“You’re damned if you do, and you’re damned if you don’t,” quipped Vineyard governor James Malkin. “And the cost of this is going to be borne by the people that travel to and from the Islands.”
In other business, governors approved an extension of reservation-only days on the Vineyard route until Columbus Day weekend, hoping to help alleviate traffic congestion concerns in Woods Hole.
Traditionally, the boat line operates on a reservation-only system during peak summer weekends between July 4 and Labor Day, with a dedicated standby for Islanders. But with traffic concerns piling up in Woods Hole, the reservation-only weekends will run for another month.
Governors also approved a slate of operational goals for Mr. Davis, including finishing the marine portion of the Woods Hole project by May 2022, and completing the design development phase of the Woods Hole terminal building. A final goal on the 12-point list calls for the general manager to develop a succession plan for his position.
Although June passenger traffic was down approximately 11 per cent over 2019, car traffic was up about two per cent from 2019, offsetting losses and putting the boat line in stable financial shape.
“Our fund balances are . . . in relatively good condition right now,” Mr. Davis said.
Comments
No problem just raise the
Tom EdgartownNo problem just raise the rates…. I told everyone when this stupid project was on discussion page…that we don’t need it and would double if not triple when done… for what? Stop building now! Don’t build the Taj Mahal
To buy ferry tickets, pee and a coke??? Come on man???
I agree stop the building.
Rich OBI agree stop the building. Finish the slips and call it a day
I'm Shocked. Shocked !!
gina Menemsha/NYCI'm Shocked. Shocked !! quoteing an old phrase from Casablanca .. big construction projects NEVER come in on budget.. No offense but the Board of Governors are simply rubber stamps for the SSA. giving lip service.. will never change..
Start the tunnel
Bob EdgStart the tunnel
I was thinking bridge.
MarieI was thinking bridge.
Be careful what you wish for
John Cape CodBe careful what you wish for thinking about a bridge or even more laughable a tunnel ! Take your pick as either one would bring unlimited traffic / people / congestion and many more problems to the Island 24 hours a day 365 days a year folks, so is that what you really want to happen ?
A bridge? Then you'd really
Thomas Hodgson WTA bridge? Then you'd really be talking money. The most comparable recently built US bridge is the new Tappan Zee. which is about half or less the necessary length to span Vineyard Sound. That was completed in in late 2018 at cost of over four billion dollars. A seat of the pants estimate for a Woods Hole to West Chop bridge? Double the cost of the Tappan Zee, add for inflation and for the fact that this is Massachusetts (remember the big dig?) and you quickly get to 8 to 10 billion dollars. A bridge to the island is unlikely to be a reasonable idea until our year-round population is a half million people or more.
Get a new boat line take it
DennisGet a new boat line take it to court if they have to overpaid all of them
If anyone is surprised by
Frank Brunelle Beach Road TisburyIf anyone is surprised by this, well....
Bob Davis always gets rave
T Bone Oak BluffsBob Davis always gets rave annual reviews by the governors. He's a master at pulling the wool over their eyes. Jay Cashman is laughing all the way to the bank. The governors need to give Davis early retirement and get a real CEO to run things. It's a joke to ask Davis to provide his own succession plan.
Anyone who has ever built
OBNY OBAnyone who has ever built anything knows that a 5% contingency is never, ever enough. Obviously this was done to make the overall cost appear low, when in reality I think they all knew the actual cost was going to be much higher.
Why should Hyannis/Nantucket
TomWWhy should Hyannis/Nantucket travelers have to pay more for a project that is for the Woods Hole/Vineyard route when rates are already through the roof?
Unforeseen bolder field?
Mike SomewhereUnforeseen bolder field? Seriously? Were there no surveys done of the underwater areas and conditions near and around the slips. One would think this would be the first thing to do when building a boat slip - check the area you are building on. All sorts of instruments can read the bottom and give a really good picture. My fish finder reads the bottom pretty well. Come on - this is a scam by Cashman and the board is going for it. Wow, $43M to $90M - that's more than double. If I ever did a project that had 200% overruns we would never get work again. There seems to be no accountability and certainly incompetence in the project management here. The MV residents that will have to pay for this debacle are Lambs led to slaughter.
That was my thought. Wow,
Marie EdgartownThat was my thought. Wow, this is crazy. It should be stopped and investigated. This is just WRONG….
Surprise?!....its so much fun
Ken Rusczyk Oak BluffsSurprise?!....its so much fun spending somebody else's money!
Davis is trained as an
Schools Out TisburyDavis is trained as an accountant. The more beans he counts the happier he is. Expect more cost over runs to be jammed through on this project. It was a mistake to ever hire someone with zero operational experience to lead the SSA. Blame the governors for this hire.
Wait, are these the same
Tom TisburyWait, are these the same Governors that sang the praises of Mr. Davis and his management of this project (among other things) just a few weeks ago when they approved his raise and bonus? Were they unaware of the mismanagement of the Woods Hole Terminal project (not to mention Woods Hole community relations, design, and operations) all along?
News Flash: Those boulders have been there since the last glacier retreated. Literally. For the SSA to just find them now shows how poorly managed they really are.
The Governors are not serving the public, they are just sycophantically cheering for the home team. They should be the loyal opposition, challenging and constructively questioning spending and planning. They should be engaging the community to gauge public satisfaction with the service. Does anyone know what they actually do?
Oy…a bolder field that the
Meonmv TisburyOy…a bolder field that the engineers didn’t know about…does anyone have an explanation?
Time to recoup some of these
Tom Woods HoleTime to recoup some of these over-run $$$ by putting the breaks on the Taj Mahal building they plan, and insist on a serious reduction in scope fitting with the size of other ticket buildings on the Islands.
Perhaps on closer examination
Dan WellfleetPerhaps on closer examination the site survey did not include test bores in way of the EXACT monopile locations.
It happens ... Were the governors asked to approve a site survey or planning budget and was that approved? What was included in the planning and what was excluded?
Was it possible to relocate the monopiles and still achieve the functional requirements? Would relocation have solved the matter? Lots of interesting questions that affect costs so no need to get knickers in a twisty when only notionally informed of the who, what, when, how & why.
And yes - I have zero interest in the matter on behalf of SSA or any contractor, but I do a lot of marine project mgmt.
How many piles?
Mike SomewhereHow many piles?
Yes-exact location survey for each pile.
Piles are driven.
Possibly driven piles were the wrong choice to go through Glacial rubble.
Maybe Caissons should have been used.
Woods Hole has never looked
Arnold Plotkin MV by way of Woods HoleWoods Hole has never looked better! The new slips look beautiful!! The only thing better is the “Temporary Ticket Office!!!” Let’s call one that done, shall we? Far better than the last building we used to have?? A nice low lying building unlike the last one??? Bathroom compliment seems to work for both the men and the ladies???? Can’t we just finish Slip 1 and call it done????? Please??????? Pretty Please???????? Pretty Please With Sugar On Top????????? For the love of God, STOP SPENDING SO MUCH MONEY ON UNNECESSARY IMPROVEMENTS.
And how is it that under
Darrell King EdgartownAnd how is it that under certain conditions (remind me, is it high tide or low tide? The experts should have been able to figure THIS one out.) that the new passenger loading ramp cannot be used, forcing passengers to embark/disembark using the vehicle ramp? Who exactly is reviewing this stuff, BEFORE it gets built? Speed bumps on the hill coming down to the docks? For what? And why do the buses have to be so far away from the boats? When will they be electric? Leave the 'temporary' ticket office as is; it's great. There is already a large, new administrative building at Palmer; why would they need another at Woods Hole?
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