Jackson Free Press

JACKSON — The Eastover Drive water-line replacement project is drawing attention to the methods engineers have used while overseeing the project, causing some in City government to take notice.

Ward 1 Councilman Ashby Foote referenced a Sept. 1 article in The Northside Sun newsweekly that included allegations from local man Tony Bertas, who alleged that the City wasn't following proper procedures during the pipe's construction. He said the "backfill was not being compacted" and "questioned the use of the original clays and Yazoo clays as a fill material surrounding the pipe."

Foote then objected to the regular payment to IMS, the engineering group managing the construction, during the council's Sept. 6 meeting.

"We need to make sure (the Eastover project) does get done (to construction standards), so three years from now we don't have to spend another $800,000 to make sure that it gets done correctly," Foote said.

Interim Director of Public Works Jerriot Smash assured Foote that the City had no problems with the work so far. "In reference to the article, first of all, the City is satisfied with the standards to which it is being done," Smash said.

Foote reiterated that the City should be sure. "I think it's critical that when criticism comes up that we actually get into it and not automatically say, 'don't worry everything is fine.' We need to look at it further," Foote said.

As a result, the council only approved the consent agenda—the list of payments the city issues—without the latest installment payment to IMS, the local engineering consulting firm in charge of coordinating the projects that the 1-percent sales tax funds.

Then, during Wednesday's 1-percent commission meeting, developer Ted Duckworth asked the City's engineer for the specs, or the specific plans for the project, in regard to the article's allegations. One of Duckworth's projects, The District at Eastover, sits on the north side of Eastover Drive.

The City's engineering manager, Dr. Charles Williams, explained in a Sept. 8 phone interview that the project had difficulties early on after an unforeseen encounter with AT&T utility lines. Because of this, the City's contractors had to redesign their plan, leading to a slight increase in cost.

"We had to back up and make an adjustment about where we had to put the water line," Williams said, adding that they moved the line to the south side of the road. Because of these switches, he said, the steps to make the changes might seem odd to the observer.

Williams said the quality of the pipe dictated what kind of soil they use to fill in the usually 4-foot-deep hole where the pipe goes.

"We are using one of the best pipes that the industry makes," Williams said, "and it is not uncommon to lay that in native soil," instead of a more complicated soil makeup including limestone, as Bertas told The Northside Sun. Williams emphasized that the pipe used, a ductile iron pipe, was designed for installation with the minimum amount of backfill in some places.

Williams said he was confident in the quality of the work "based on the experience of the contractor, the experience of the design consultant."

"We had to make some field adjustments on the pipe to stay within budgets. We did not cut any corners," Williams said.

The engineering consultancy company for the project, Southern Consultants, responded to the original article with a letter to the editor of the Sun, published Sept. 8.

"It was at my direction that the contractor used the native soil as backfill, otherwise the cost of haul-off and select backfill would have been very costly," James Stewart, one of the engineers over the project, wrote. "Using native soil as backfill has no adverse impact to the pipe and is common practice."

Williams said the City welcomes inquiries about the quality of the project. "We don't shy away from the questions or concerns to make sure that people understand that we are taking these projects seriously," Williams said.

However, he added, public accusations from someone like Bertas, who is not listed as a licensed engineer in Mississippi, could be harmful.

"It is one thing to have a person who has some knowledge to come out and question, and maybe make a statement against that," Williams said. "And to have a non-engineer to come out and make a very serious accusation like that, it hurts the profession as a whole."

Bertas, who owns the company ABS Services Inc., could not be reached by press time. The company lists "Intent to Dissolve" on the Mississippi secretary of state's website. “Bertas is also the director and president of Civil Precast Corporation out of Ridgeland. A number listed for the company was disconnected.”

Email city reporter Tim Summers Jr. at [email protected]. See more local news at jfp.ms/localnews.