Rehoboth Beach commissioners approve change order for Henlopen Avenue paving

The Rehoboth Beach commissioners approved a change order at a special meeting Tuesday, May 1, to the ocean outfall project. The council voted to authorize a modification to the paving on Henlopen Avenue at an additional cost of $310,000. The original contract for the paving required the backfilling of the 8-foot force main trench, then adding a layer of 6 inches of stone, a layer of 5 inches of support fill material and then a layer of 2 inches of top paving. That would cover 8 of the total 22 feet of paving for the avenue. Under the original contract, the remaining 14 feet of pavement, on the south side, would be milled and then have a 2-inch layer of pavement on top. Presently, Henlopen Avenue has very little supporting material under the existing pavement other than sand. The approved change order for the entire street entails a layer of 3 ½ inches of support fill material and then a layer of 2 inches of top paving. Mayor Paul Kuhns said, “I feel this is a very important change order for creating a much stronger foundation for Henlopen Avenue. This will allow for a way of arresting the deterioration and extending the street’s life.”

Kelvin George, GHD Project Manager, provided a breakdown of all suggested change orders so far for the project. City staff meets regularly with GHD and the project contractors to go over the construction change orders to date. “Many times, change orders are because of additional work involved, issues not discovered when the bid was put out or changes in the field of which we have no control over,” said Kuhns. Change orders will continue to be discussed and evaluated by engineers and contractors at commissioner meetings. For meeting agendas and minutes, please visit https://cityofrehoboth.civicweb.net/Portal/.