The Orting City Council on July 30 authorized two measures to keep the WR‑2 bridge project moving after contractors discovered unexpected subsurface conditions that damaged foundation work. Council approved a $478,356 change order to Quigg Brothers Inc. for two replacement shafts and later approved a $70,000 settlement to resolve outstanding contractor claims for three other shafts.

The change order, made by motion of Councilmember Hogan and seconded by Deputy Mayor Koenig, covers redesign and construction of two 3‑foot-diameter, cased shafts and associated cap-beam work to bypass an existing failed 4‑foot shaft. City staff and the contractor described the extra cost as necessary after a large boulder or remnant rock shifted during drilling and damaged the original shaft’s rebar cage.

“Encountering boulders in the geotechnical report is expected; what we experienced—subsequent rock movement affecting a completed shaft—was rare,” said the city’s construction oversight representative, who described the condition as an unforeseen, site-specific event. The city’s project manager and the contractor explained that permanently casing every shaft to prevent this very rare outcome would have substantially increased the baseline cost of the whole bridge.

Council members pressed staff and the contractor for details on prior risk assessments, design choices and whether the geotechnical report had signaled the magnitude of possible boulders. The contractor’s representative said the contract called for temporary casing and means-and-methods the contractor had followed; staff said contractors are required to price and handle expected subsurface obstructions and that some risks are borne as change orders when rare, post‑construction shifts occur.

Councilmember Moore voted against the $478,356 change order on grounds of fiscal caution; the motion passed on a 6–1 roll call vote. Later in the meeting, after staff and the contractor negotiated, council authorized the mayor to execute a $70,000 agreement as full and final settlement of disputed change‑order claims for shafts P1A, P1B and ER4. City staff said arbitration costs were likely to exceed the settlement amount and that the settlement avoided an expensive, protracted dispute.

City staff noted the project’s funding mix: state legislative appropriations (roughly $6 million from 2021 and $3 million from 2024), federal COVID lost-revenue funds, Department of Commerce funds, Port of Tacoma funds and city general‑fund contingency dollars (including ARPA‑designated reserves). Staff said the approved actions exhaust a significant portion of the project contingency but are required to avoid delays and additional cost escalation.

The council instructed staff to continue tracking change orders and to document lessons learned from the shaft incidents for future projects. The project manager said the contractor still intends to complete the bridge within the contract window, and staff warned that delays now would raise costs further.

Outcome: Council approved the $478,356 change order (motion: Hogan; second: Koenig) on a 6–1 roll call (Moore opposed) and later approved the $70,000 settlement (motion: Moore; second: Sprowl) on a roll call reported as passing by a 6–1 margin.