PORT ANGELES — Olympic Medical Center must spend an added $175,000 to replace still more “unsuitable soil” at the site of its new Medical Office Building with solid dirt and crushed rock.
That’s besides an earlier 1,100 tons of new fill it trucked in to shore up a nearby Georgiana Street Sewer Improvement Project.
Although the excavation contractor, Bruch & Bruch Construction of Port Angeles, did not reveal the cost of the sewer change order that OMC approved in October, the city of Port Angeles’ share of the sewer overrun came to $55,172.
The City Council approved the contract amendment Tuesday.
Shifty soil
At the medical office building site across Caroline Street from the hospital, the earth was not firm enough to support foundation footers.
The soil was replaced with fresh fill and 18 inches of crushed rock, according to Eric Lewis, hospital CEO.
Contractors had expected to underlay the excavation with only 4 inches of rock, he said.
At Georgiana Street, soil collapsed and slid into trenches in October.
The bright side, City Engineer Craig Fulton said Tuesday, is that the Georgiana Street sewer project is 95 percent complete, and the overrun can be met with savings from earlier utility projects.
The sewer and foundation complications, however, “has slowed us down by a few weeks,” Lewis said of the medical office building project.
Lewis’ good news Wednesday was that the Port Angeles Women’s Clinic building, 930 Caroline St., would be demolished in about 10 days, along with houses that held the old Olympic Home Health facilities and information technology operations.
Two lots north of OMC also will be paved within two weeks, he said.
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Reporter James Casey can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jcasey@peninsuladailynews.com.