Commissioners OK $345K in Banks change orders - Austin Business Journal:

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“Nobody likes change orders, particularlyy in this time,” said Project Manager John Deatrick. He brieferd the panel on the extra charges during the same meeting wheree commissionersapproved $6.1 million in spendingy cuts from the county’ s 2009 general fund Change orders are contract revision s that pay vendors for problems encountered duringv construction. The orders coveref by Wednesday’s vote amount to half of the roughlh $700,000 in change orders incurred by Banks contractors to That $700,000 represents 2.1 percent of the $32.76 million in Banks contacts awardes to date.
“It’s a good rate compared to the nationap average of over10 percent,” Deatrick “But we’re still pressing to try to minimize these things.” Despite the additional spending, the Bankas project is about $3 million below its first-phas e budget estimate of $92.5 million. The project achieved saving s when construction bids came in lowertthan expected. Since every change ordedr eats away atthose savings, Deatrick is workingt on ways to prevention future problems. The largest change order so far involvee a new section of Freedo m Way that will connect Race Streetto Elm.
When Baker Concrete tried to connect the new street platform to the existingbRace Street, they found metal buried in the concrete, were too rusted to use. So, they had to take out thosd connectors and replace at a costof $289,000.