Editorial: Contractors and government both need good communication

Tribune-Review | Tuesday, February 22, 2022 6:01 a.m.

Courtesy of Dan Gerhard

Two large pieces of heavy conctruction equipment sunk deep in mud at an excavation site near the Allegheny River in Cheswick. Only the top of the cab’s roof and the arm of the shovel remain above the surface.

On the surface, it’s kind of funny.

Construction equipment is what people use to dig things up. It’s not supposed to be the stuff that gets sucked down into the ground.

And yet there they are — two bright yellow excavators sticking out of the muddy ground along the Allegheny River in Cheswick, the articulated shovels looking like monstrous arms of a creature stuck in a tar pit.

But under that surface, the situation is just as murky as the mud the equipment is sunk in.

The problem seemingly started when Greenland Construction had some free days available. The company was contracted by Allegheny Valley Joint Sewage Authority’s treatment plant manager Tim Kephart to do work, so Greenland apparently decided to get a jump on clearing some trees. (Company officials have not returned the Tribune-Review’s phone calls and messages.)

The next thing you know, pictures of the drowning excavators were being shared on social media, which is where Kephart says he first heard about the situation.

“I didn’t know anyone was digging up there,” he said.

That’s a problem. Construction companies taking advantage of a nice day here or there to get some winter work done is nothing new. It’s actually a smart use of time and resources.

But anyone who has had a kitchen renovation or roof replacement delayed because they didn’t know who was showing up when can tell you that one fairly consistent problem with contractors can be communication.

While the borough has said the ground in question doesn’t belong to the municipality, council President Michael Girardi isn’t exactly right when he says, “We are not involved in this at all.” The people of Cheswick are involved because it’s going to affect them, which means the borough should be involved, too.

It’s likely to affect them because the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Allegheny County Conservation District are involved, investigating the site to see what’s happening, how it happened and what happens next.

“I’m still wondering how they are going to get (the excavators) out,” Kephart said.

That’s likely what DEP and ACCD are wondering — along with what’s happening as thousands of pounds of metal and fuel are sunk in the soil adjacent to the river.

While the unexpected happens all the time and you can never anticipate everything that might happen with a construction job, the easiest way to keep a small problem from becoming a big one is to make sure everyone knows what’s going on.

When you are dealing with public projects, that’s even more vital.

The authority can make sure that happens going forward by holding its contractor accountable and making sure that information is made available to not only the DEP and ACCD but also the people. Because there’s nothing funny about being stuck in the mud and left in the dark.