Cost rising for bridge to Braves development

And the bill could keep climbing.

The county has told the public for the past year that the span over I-285 would cost a maximum of $9 million. But that is an estimate of construction costs only, and does not include expenses that are necessary to complete the project, Cobb DOT Director Faye DiMassimo acknowledged recently in response to questions from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

DiMassimo said the total cost of the project won’t be known until the design and engineering is finished this fall — just before the county needs to solicit construction bids to build the rare, double-deck bridge on a fast track, with an eye toward opening before the Braves first pitch in April 2017.

Purchasing the land, or right of way for the bridge, could cost up to $2 million, DiMassimo said. And the county already has committed $804,000 for the bridge’s design and engineering. Neither of those expenses were included in the county’s $9 million estimate.

And the actual cost of aspects of the project, such as roadwork, curbs, sidewalks, drainage, testing, signs or moving utilities, could be more expensive, DiMassimo said. That “will depend on numerous factors, including the cost of materials and labor in a fluctuating market,” she said.

DiMassimo would communicate with the AJC only through emails that were first sent to County Manager David Hankerson and Commission Chairman Tim Lee’s deputy chief.

Stephan Durham, an associate professor in the University of Georgia’s College of Engineering, reviewed the project’s Request for Proposal and said construction could be held to the county’s $9 million estimate. Or it could be millions more.

“My feeling would be that an integrated pedestrian-transit bridge that has the aesthetics they will be looking for will result in a cost at the higher end (of the county’s estimate), if not in the $10-12 million range,” Durham wrote in an email.

Mohsen Issa, a University of Illinois at Chicago professor of structural and materials engineering, said extras like decorative railing or custom lighting can add up.

“There are many costs that aren’t accounted for in the construction estimate,” Issa said.

Aesthetics of the bridge are important to the county and the Braves. It will link the team’s $1 billion stadium and mixed-use development with Galleria offices and other businesses.

AECom’s winning bridge design proposal suggested arched or truss fencing, with brick and concrete “to mimic the stadium aesthetic.” Atop the bridge, paving could “echo” the stitching pattern of a baseball; light poles could resemble baseball bats; and Braves’ history could be imprinted in the pavement, according to the proposal, which was reviewed under the state’s open records law.

The proposal also mentioned concerns: the bridge’s 1,100-foot span is long, equal to 3 1/2 football fields; its incline relatively steep; and exposure to the elements could be harsh.

“We will focus heavily on softening the walking experience,” the proposal says. “We will … create opportunities for refuge and seating; incorporate cover areas or overhead canopies to provide shading.”

It says there could be “misting stations” along the way.

Building rare bridges

Meaningful comparisons to the county’s bridge plan are difficult to find.

There are just not many bridges that carry pedestrians, bicyclists and transit vehicles, but not standard automobiles. Rarer still is the double deck bridge envisioned by the county, with pedestrians accessing the top span through a parking garage, and the trams crossing on the bottom span from surface roads.

In its proposal, AECom submitted an alternative idea of a single, wider span with pedestrians on one side and trams on the other.

Commissioner Bob Ott, who represents the Cumberland area, said he’d like to have a cost-benefit analysis performed after the bridge’s final tab is set. But there appears to be little time for that kind of public scrutiny.

The county has offered AECom a $14,000 bonus if it finishes the design and engineering quickly enough so that construction bids are opened in October. The company said it will save time by working with the Braves and other Cumberland businesses as the design takes shape.

“Early charrette meetings with Cobb County, the community improvement district and the Braves are critical to meet the design schedule,” the proposal says.

There is no mention in the proposal of engaging the general public. A question to DiMassimo about how the county plans to do that went unanswered for weeks, until Thursday when she said there will be three public meetings and conceptual bridge drawings will be presented during a commission meeting in June.

That would leave 18 months for construction, which is a tight schedule, said Georgia professor Durham.

“It will take every bit of 18 months to complete,” he said.

When asked how the project could stay on schedule and receive a cost-benefit analysis, Ott responded: “As far as I’m concerned, I’m not going to be ready to vote on it until that’s done.”

The commissioner added that the county will have to address the issue of pedestrians walking along busy Cobb Parkway, even if the bridge isn’t built.

“The county and everyone has to come up with a solution as to how those folks are going to move safely from one side of the interstate to the other,” Ott said. “It’s the No. 1 thing that has to be addressed.”

County not responsive

Getting the county to answer questions about the difference between its construction cost estimate and the overall project cost was difficult.

DiMassimo initially agreed to an interview for this story. But shortly after, a county spokesman told the newspaper that all questions had to be submitted in writing.

Eighteen questions were submitted to DiMassimo March 30.

Over the ensuing weeks, the spokesman told the newspaper that answers would be provided and follow-up questions would be addressed; then he said the county would issue a statement instead; then he said that the statement would not be provided and the AJC should publish its story without a response.

Instead, the newspaper filed a request under the Georgia Open Records Act, asking for emails between county officials related to the newspaper’s questions. They show that DiMassimo submitted answers to a county spokesman and Commission Chairman Tim Lee’s deputy three hours after the questions were sent.

Those answers included the acknowledgement that the $9 million was a construction cost estimate only.

The statement, found in an April 6 email from DiMassimo to Hankerson and the county attorney, did not address the newspaper’s question about the difference between the county’s construction estimate and the total project cost.

It’s not the first time the public has had difficulty getting accurate information about the bridge project.

Lee announced the bridge in November 2013, one day after the Braves went public with their move to Cobb County. He told the local newspaper that the bridge, initially estimated to cost $3 million, was included in the stadium construction budget. The AJC first reported that the bridge would be a separate expense from the county’s $400 million commitment toward the stadium after reviewing the preliminary agreement between Cobb and the team.

But months later, Lee still said the bridge would be constructed without cost to local taxpayers.

“Could the bridge be an extra expense for Cobb taxpayers?” Lee was asked in a throng of reporters on July 15.

“Probably not. No,” he said. “I doubt it. I doubt it seriously.”

Four months later, the AJC received hundreds of documents in response to an open records request related to the bridge. In those documents was the county’s application to the Atlanta Regional Commission for the bridge to be included in the organization’s long-range plan.

The application says that at least half of the bridge’s cost would come from local taxes.

Lee issued a statement last week that said the bridge project is proceeding “no different than any other infrastructure project.”

“I have stated repeatedly that short of any minimal required local match, Cobb County taxpayers will not bear the burden of the cost of this project,” the statement says. “That said, our intention from Day 1 has been to achieve 100 percent funding through multiple sources and that remains my focus.”