West 3rd Street lift bridge - perfect example of Cleveland

Submitted by Jeff Buster on Tue, 06/29/2010 - 17:11.

west third 3rd street lift bridge cuyahoga cleveland ohio image 6.28.10 jeff busterOne of the best places to hide corruption is beneath incompetence mixed liberally with confusion.

And the City of Cleveland, ODOT, and Cuyahoga County are skilled in the art of defrauding the taxpaying public of the fair value for the work these entities oversee.
 
 
Keep in mind that the fact that the job will cost  double what was originally estimated DOES NOT INCLUDE THE COST OF THE INCOVENIENCE TO THE TRAVELING PUBLIC WHO HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO USE THE BRIDGE DURING THE YEARS THAT IT WAS CLOSED. 
 
But please remember, except for the public who pay the bill (but who aren’t really involved in the process) no one wants a low bid.   
 
Contractors love Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, and ODOT!

 

 

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Cleveland - out of service

Submitted by Gone Fishin on Tue, 06/29/2010 - 18:16.

Cuyahoga - out of service

It appears that Frank Giglio's demolition was not bid out.  Buddy system. that is why the demo fees were so high.

Errors and Omissions Insurance

Submitted by Jeff Buster on Wed, 06/30/2010 - 22:52.
The bid documents for the West third 3rd street bridge renovation/rebuilding in Cleveland, Ohio had to be specified in a corrupt manner.  I have not read the specs, but I have observed the renovation.
The bridge was first put out of service while a new bridge truss was fabricated and assembled off site and eventually brought to the site on a barge and rigged into place.
Question: why wasn’t the existing bridge left in service while a replacement was constructed and then the old bridge removed and the new bridge installed?   Instead there was about a year long period of closure.  
Then when the new span was placed, the bridge lift cables were a few feet too short, and the contractor, Walsh, went for a big extra.  
Anyone who has ever replaced elevator or lift cables knows that you take the old cables and match them at the cable supplier.   Walsh didn’t know this?
Then when the new span was placed it came to everyone’s attention that the gates which kept the car traffic from driving into the Cuyahoga River when the bridge was up – HAD BEEN FORGOTTEN!
The engineering firm who designed and specified the job had forgotten the closure gates.
So the new bridge was closed again while closure gates were fabricated and installed.
There is much more malfeasance – which will be described in further posts here.
But the question is: Why isn’t a claim being made against the errors and omissions insurance policy of the engineering firm which specified the job?
What if the engineering firm and Walsh were in cahoots?  
What if the engineering firm, ODOT, Cuyahoga County, and the City of Cleveland were corruptly managing this out of sight multi million dollar fiasco?
Mr. FBI, check this bridge deal out – it is much bigger than Stonebridge.
 

 

Mr. FBI

Submitted by Gone Fishin on Thu, 07/01/2010 - 04:16.

sounds like Mr. FBI might be in Cuyahoga permanently.

ODOT meeting Thursday-Corruption..ad nauseum

Submitted by lmcshane on Tue, 06/29/2010 - 21:07.

  Hi Jeff/Lily, can either one or both of you please attend the meeting this Thursday at Applewood ?

Apparently, press will be there.  Good time to ask important questions. 

(Jeff...Karen's name is Farkas... it means wolf in Hungarian...)

Thanks Laura - made the edit

Submitted by Jeff Buster on Tue, 06/29/2010 - 22:59.

I will let you know re: attending meeting.

Walsh Construction--Innerbelt Bridge UNREAL!

Submitted by lmcshane on Thu, 10/14/2010 - 04:20.

Architect Glen Murray submitted this editorial in the PD ...UNREAL...UNREALNEO....

 

ODOT walls, ODOT corruption, Medical Mart, Breuer building...Cuyahoga County Corruption...it's blatant, it's so bad...and on top of it, all--this is what PD's Phillip Morris has to say:

http://www.cleveland.com/morris/index.ssf/2010/09/the_priates_of_the_cuyahoga_ar.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Icing on the cake!

Losing bidders on Inner Belt Bridge project seek stipends of up to $1 million from state

By

Tom Breckenridge, The Plain Dealer

| Wednesday, October 13, 2010, 10:00 PM

 

Laura

Submitted by Gone Fishin on Wed, 06/30/2010 - 04:08.

I will try my best to make it.

West Third St. Bridge

Submitted by lmcshane on Thu, 11/11/2010 - 06:24.

A few days after the shooting of Jeff Chiplis, I rode down West Third because I had to get downtown--I actually ran into PD photographer Lisa DeJong taking photos for the PD story. 

I was miffed to see the bridge closed off, because West Third is my preferred bike route to downtown. But at least getting way-laid allowed me to talk to Lisa DeJong a bit.

Jeff says:

One of the best places to hide corruption is beneath incompetence mixed liberally with confusion.

That is the state of chaos we live with here in NEO.  It's a crying shame.  I told Lisa my take on the shooting.  We could have a much better City, if we took care of our children. 

It just takes some accounting and actually caring about kids.

(Addendum--West Third St. Bridge was supposed to be open November 1st--still closed)

ODOT Meeting tonight--no official mailer sent out

Submitted by lmcshane on Thu, 07/01/2010 - 07:17.

 Residents were told in advance that an "official" ODOT mailer would be sent out--to date--no one has received this mailer.

Some of us received this in email format or viewed it here at REALNEO:

http://realneo.us/system/files/PUBLIC_MEETING_-_ODOT_7-1-2010.pdf

That's all--results of 2009 public meeting also included many residents opposed to the wall.  Comments were sorted by direct and indirect impact depending on respondants distance from the highway.  I would like to see those comments tallied and presented tonight for public record.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

What if the engineering firm, ODOT, Cuyahoga County, and the City of Cleveland were corruptly managing this out of sight multi million dollar fiasco?
Mr. FBI, check this bridge deal out – it is much bigger than Stonebridge.
 

Dear Mr. Gardin,

 

After receiving your email concerning the noise wall being built on I-71 in Cleveland, I contacted the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) to seek more information on the issue.  I hope that the following information will answer some of your questions and concerns.

 

First, there is a public meeting planned for tomorrow evening.  The details of which can be found below-

 

MEETING NOTICE:
I-71 Pearl/W. 25th Street & Fulton Noise Mitigation Project

When: 6:30 p.m., THURSDAY, JULY 1st
Where: Basement meeting room at the historic Jones Home (Applewood Center) building - entrance is off the main parking lot in the back of the building that fronts W. 25th Street.  An elevator is provided.
Who:  ODOT and Great Lakes Construction
Tentative agenda:
1. Overview of Project
a.      Planning and decision process
b.      Final review and modifications to plans
c.      Construction schedule
2. Discussion on potential enhancement funding for additional landscape and tree plantings
3. Q&A for general issues and for properties directly impacted by construction

 

 

Also, according to ODOT there was a meeting on July 22, 2009 at the Applewood Center and also an Old Brooklyn Community Devolvement Corporation Meeting on July 23, 2009.  At these meetings 156 surveys were distributed to residents on the ‘front-line’ of I-71. Of the surveys distributed at the meetings 66 surveys were returned.  Eighteen (18) residents along Smith Road signed a petition and sent in surveys stating they did not want a noise barrier because their houses faced the proposed barrier, therefore any barrier along that stretch was eliminated.  Thirty-two (32) surveys were from front-line receivers along Riverside Drive and Poe Avenue where we proposed to build noise barriers.  Twenty-nine (29) were in favor of the noise barrier and three (3) were against noise barriers.  

 

According to ODOT, they are looking into the idea of a ‘Living Wall’.  I was informed that more research will need to be done to ensure this type of wall meets federal requirements for addressing noise conditions and can withstand northeast Ohio conditions.  Although ODOT did not propose a ‘living wall’ I-71, they are currently performing research on another Interstate in Ohio.

 

I hope that you find this information helpful.  If you have any further questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

Best wishes,

 

Tom King

Office of State Senator Shirley Smith

Senate Building

1 Capitol Square, 2nd Floor

Columbus, OH

43215

 

Tel: 614-466-4857

Fax:614-644-6164

 

Business...as usual....

Submitted by lmcshane on Fri, 04/27/2012 - 08:05.

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2012/04/west_third_bridge_in_cl...

and...

http://www.cleveland.com/mycleveland/index.ssf/2009/08/odot_official_bon...

and...

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/01/fitzgerald_names_assistant_us.ht...

 

truthbetold68 January 13, 2011 at 6:27PM

 

Well I see that it will be business as usual at the county with Mr. FitzGerald running the show.
Some of us had high hopes that he would squash the political patronage, and give these new jobs to qualified, non political wh0res.
Sadly, we were fooled by his F.B.I. backround, thinking he would be the one to straighten out the mess left behind by the last bunch of scumbags known as the Cuyahoga County Commisioners.
In hiring Bonnie Teeuwen as the public works director, he is getting somone who was Jimmy Dimora's personal pick as the Ohio Department of Transportation Deputy Director in Cleveland.
What most don't know is that Ms. Teeuwen was previously employed by odot before her last stint as deputy director, and was the direct supervisor of Terence Kosmata, one of the kingpins in the odot corruption scandal.
Under Ms. Teeuwen's watch, Mr. Kosmata bilked the state out of six figures worth of money over a number of years, he now resides in state prison for the next two and a half years.
She was either blind, or was involved in the corruption that blatantly took place on her watch. Sadly, Ms. Teeuwen keeps on getting bigger and better public jobs, thanks to the Cuyahoga Democratic machine.
Hey Ed, did her resume include being public employee number 38 in the federal investigation?
I really hope that Mr. Fitzgerald knows that the people of this county are keeping a close eye on his moves and so far, we are very disappointed in him.
P.S. Ms. Teeuwen lives in Medina, not Cuyahoga County. You would think the jobs you are filling would at the very least, go to a Cuyahoga County resident!