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Central Pender Park faces possible change order as contractor, engineers report wet soils and compaction issues
Summary
Pond & Company and the contractor told Pender County commissioners March 10 that wet, slow-to-dry soils at Central Pender Park are complicating compaction testing and may require a change order that could affect the project schedule.
County engineers and the construction manager told commissioners that work at Central Pender Park, which broke ground in January, is ongoing but facing site-condition challenges that could require a change order and extend the schedule.
Reynaldo Bravo of Pond & Company, the project's civil engineer and later project manager, said crews have completed site clearing, erosion-control measures and initial grading but have encountered wetter-than-expected soils that are not drying fast enough to pass compaction testing. That testing is required for key elements such as the building pad, paved drive and gravel parking. He said crews have begun to remove dirt in preparation for athletic fields, but the building pad and other critical areas must pass compaction before vertical construction proceeds.
Bravo said the project team and contractor Waters Construction are evaluating soil remediation options so compaction tests can be met; those solutions could create a change order and additional cost. As of the March 10 presentation the project remained on schedule for a targeted substantial completion in August, but continuing wet conditions could alter that timeline.
Commissioners pressed the team about whether subsurface conditions should have been anticipated by the geotechnical report. Bravo said the Terracon geotechnical work identified soil classifications and a seasonal high water table but that the site is not drying at the expected rate, producing conditions that complicate compaction testing. A county commissioner asked why crews were not working weekends to accelerate progress; the contractor noted site access and testing windows as constraints.
The project manager said site work continues—erosion-control measures, building-pad preparation, utility trenches and removal of topsoil for the athletic fields—while the team explores mitigation measures to meet compaction requirements and keep electrical and water utility work moving.
The county will be informed if a formal change order is required; the project team said any change would be reviewed with the board before approval.
