A bulkhead is provided for closing either branch when it becomes necessary to remove a butterfly valve for maintenance. The estimated weight of each valve and its operating unit is 9, 750 pounds. - (e) Modification of the Valve House Wall. After the award for purchase and delivery of the butterfly valve had been made it was learned that the valves and operating mechanism could not be placed in the space provided. It was necessary to remove part of a wall between the two valves and to reposition the valves from their planned location. When part of the dividing wall was removed special care and steel placement were required to insure adequate load sustaining ability of the concrete left in place. CHAPTER III--CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION 11/ A. The Prime Contract 27. Specifications No. 2594. The construction of Platoro Dam was accomplished in accordance with specifications No. 2594. Seven bids were received and were opened at Monte Vista, Colo., April 12, 1949. Contract No. I2r-18514 was awarded on May 5, 1949 to the Hinman Brothers Construction Company of Denver, Colo., the low bidder. The three lowest bids were as follows: (1) The Hinman Brothers Construction Co., (2) Ed. H. Honnen Construction Co., Colorado Springs, Colo. (3) Grafe-Callahan Construction Co., Los Angeles, Calif. $2, 727, 792.00 3, 105, 417.40 Notice to proceed was received by the contractor on June 16, 1949, fixing the completion date as January 6, 1953, a period of 1, 300 days being allowed for the completion of the contract. The contractor moved in and began building roads and the camp on May 16, 1949, 31 days before the effective date of the notice to proceed. Except for the winter shutdowns in 1949-50 and 1950-51 there were no appreciable delays, and work proceeded rapidly; the contractor finished work September 26, 1951, 468 days ahead of schedule. 28. Orders for Changes. - Order for changes No. 1, issued September 24, 1949, provided for the placement of all concrete in the gate chamber below the floor between stations 7+24 and 7+54 in one stage instead of two separate stages. This resulted in a saving to the contractor, and a price adjustment was therefore made. Order for changes No. 2, issued June 12, 1950, provided for placement of secondstage concrete and substructure concrete in the center wall before placement of substructure concrete in the outside wall. This change was requested by the contractor for convenience in concrete placement. A reduction was made in the price of concrete in the center wall. Order for changes No. 3, issued July 12, 1950, designated two additional rock borrow areas from which riprap could be obtained. The original area was close to the valve house and it was feared that heavy blasting might damage the structure. There was no increase or decrease in the amount of the contract as a result of this order. Order for changes No. 4, issued March 8, 1951, involved several changes, most important of which was the reduction of zone 1 and zone 3 and an increase in the crosssectional area of zone 2. This permitted faster placement because zone 1 material was very moist and required excessive drying on the fill. Other changes involved increasing the screen openings of the separation plant from 3 to 5 inches; extending borrow area 6 to include an area southeast which contained drier material; providing for use of salvaged materials from rock borrow area 2 in zone 3 of the dam and dike; and providing for quarrying additional zone 3 material from rock borrow area 4. The last two items were for making up the shortage of zone 3 material from the slide rock borrow areas. The only price adjustment was a slight increase in cost of the zone 3 material obtained from rock borrow area 4. Order for changes No. 5, issued August 7, 1951, provided for the construction of approximately 600 feet of access road connecting the existing haul road with the top of the dam and eliminating the requirement for the construction of a small dike for protection of Mix Lake. The small amount of interconnecting roadway was necessary to provide an access road to the top of the dam. By leaving a fill section of the contractor's haul road, ample protection of Mix Lake was provided without constructing the dike originally planned. A lump sum of $3,000.00 was allowed for payment for the interconnecting road. Order for changes No. 6, issued August 30, 1951, eliminated the installation of the butterfly valves and butterfly valve hatch covers from the contract; these were to be installed later by Government forces. This was necessary because of the late delivery of the butterfly valves and hatch covers furnished by the Government. No adjustment was made in the contract price. 29. Extra Work Orders. Extra work order No. 1, issued July 25, 1950, provided for backfilling a mine tunnel with concrete. This tunnel was discovered in the foundation of Platoro Dam during foundation cleanup operations. The total expenditures for the work were $6, 233.51. Extra work order No. 2, issued July 30, 1951, provided for modification of the valve house in order to accommodate the butterfly valves fabricated with horizontally mounted valve control shafts instead of vertically mounted shafts as originally planned. The work was paid for on a cost plus 10 percent basis, the total cost being $1,915.69. B. Minor Contracts 30. Specifications No. R5-14. The construction of quonset huts and facilities for the Government camp at Platoro Dam was performed under specifications No. R5-14 by Ward E. Mathias, of Monte Vista, Colo., the low bidder, at a cost of $26, 512.57. The contract was awarded on June 24, 1949, and notice to proceed was received by the contractor on July 21. The contractor experienced some delay in the delivery of the steel windows for the quonsets, but he completed all work on September 20, exactly on schedule. Order for changes No. 1, issued August 24, 1949, provided for ceilings in the dormitories and one additional concrete foundation. Changes were made in the dormitories to provide greater privacy, and additional concrete foundation was included so that a garage and warehouse could be erected later by Government forces. Unit prices remained the same as the bid prices. 31. Specifications No. R5-15. Construction of a liquefied petroleum gas system for Platoro Government camp was performed under specifications No. R5-15 by Superior Manufacturing Company, of Amarillo, Texas, the low bidder, at a cost of $4,778. 24. The contract was awarded June 25, 1949, and notice to proceed was received by the contractor on July 7. The contractor delivered the tanks and began installation on July 18. There were no delays and he completed all work on August 20, 1949, one day ahead of the completion date. 32. Specifications No. R5-13. Platoro reservoir site was cleared under specifications No. R5-13 by Welch Industries, Inc., of Colorado Springs, Colo., the low bidder, at a cost of $33, 769.00. The contract was awarded August 11, 1949, and notice to proceed was received by the contractor on September 10, 1949. There were no appreciable delays except for winter shutdowns and a 20-day period between July 3 and July 23, 1951, when burning of cleared material was prohibited by the Forest Service because of extreme fire danger. The contractor completed work August 13, 1951, 18 days ahead of schedule. 33. Specifications No. R5-24. Construction of a 2-bedroom gatetender's residence and garage at Platoro was performed under specifications No. R5-24 by Herbert F. Winner, Notice to proceed was received by the contractor on August 30, 1950, and the work was accepted by the Government on October 31. 34. Equipment Specifications. There were two equipment specifications for Platoro Dam appurtenant works. The outlet pipe was furnished by the Lang Company of Salt Lake City, Utah, under specifications No. 2665 at a cost of $10, 334, and the high-pressure gate for the outlet works was furnished by Albina Engine and Machine Works, of Portland, Oreg., under specifications No. 2572 at a cost of $14, 224. C. Claims 35. Claims by Contractor Against the Government. Welch Industries, Inc., contractor for clearing Platoro reservoir under specifications No. R5-13, filed a claim with the Comptroller General on May 18, 1951, contending that he cleared 60 or 70 acres in excess of the contract requirement. However, the claim was disallowed on the basis that the contract was clear and unambiguous wherein it stated that the areas were approximate only and the contractor "shall not be entitled to additional compensation because of any variation therefrom. D. Government Organization 36. General. All engineering, inspection, and administration were accomplished by an organization under the construction engineer. The organization was divided into a field engineering force, an office engineering force, and an administrative force. The field force was subdivided into survey, inspection, and laboratory groups. 37. Administrative and Office Engineering Forces. - The administrative force consisted of an administrative assistant, clerk-typist, camp maintenance foreman, mechanic, plumber, carpenter, electrican, truck driver, and four laborers. This force was responsible for performance of administrative activities and functions of the office, performing routine office duties such as filing, costkeeping, personnel and finance operations, and material procurement. Operation and maintenance work in the Government camp and maintenance of Government vehicles was also performed by the administrative force. The office engineering force consisted of an office engineer, assistant office engineer, one engineer, two computers, and one clerk-typist. Other men were borrowed from the field forces whenever their duties decreased. This group was responsible for (1) computation of quantities for monthly and final contract earnings; (2) drafting correspondence and reports to initiate and execute construction contracts; (3) preparing, editing, and assembling all construction reports; (4) designing, procuring material, and supervising construction of Platoro Government camp; (5) preparing preliminary drafts of specifications for additional facilities; (6) preparing basic cost estimates and work orders and assisting in other programs work for Platoro Dam; and (7) preparing, assembling, and filing permanent construction records. 38. Field Force. - All field personnel were under the direction of the field engineer, who supervised activities of the survey, inspection, and laboratory units. (a) Survey Unit. --The survey unit was headed by a chief of surveys, who had four to twelve assistants. Personnel was augmented, as required, to expedite surveys for preparation of monthly pay estimates by men from the laboratory and camp forces. Some additional help was provided during the summer months by temporary employment of engineering aids (trainees). The survey unit was divided into parties of four or five members, each headed by a chief of party. The survey unit was primarily responsible for all surveys necessary during the construction of Platoro Dam. Horizontal and vertical control was provided through a system of triangulation stations and permanent benchmarks. In addition to establishing line and grade for the outlet tunnel, it was necessary to check forms for all concrete placements and for the installation of metalwork and machinery. Items checked in the outlet works include the outlet pipe, high-pressure gate, trashrack structure, and valve house. The survey work on the dam consisted of taking original and final cross sections, taking progress sections for monthly payments, and setting slope stakes for all zones of fill placement. The latter was quite difficult because of the two curves in the dam which made it necessary to stake these two portions each time slope stakes were set. Original and final cross sections of all borrow areas were taken, along with progress sections for montly payments. This work was made exceedingly difficult and laborious by the steep slopes and irregular terrain encountered in the zone 1 and zone 3 borrow areas. |