…private engineers calling for project reviewThe contractor executing the $310M steel sheet pile revetment works at New Hope has failed to meet the project revised February 23 deadline.This may be a blessing in disguise, according to two private engineers who are of the opinion that the Public Works Ministry should inspect the project thoroughly before granting another extension. They claim that the works being done by the contractor are substandard.However,Wholesale Jerseys, officials at the Works Ministry are mum on whether the contractor has requested an extension.If the project is extended, this would be its second extension since the contract was signed in May 2011.Initially the project was expected to commence in May 2011 but difficulty sourcing steel sheet piles on the European Market at that juncture was cited for its delay. Nonetheless, not until November 2011 physical works commenced under the project and the Ministry had slated February 23 as its new deadline.According to one of the private engineers, who has been observing the works over the past few months, one of the obvious flaws with the project is that the steel sheet piles are not being tarred. In fact, several steel sheet piles that are stocked on the East Bank Public Road are already rusting.He stressed that tarring of the steel-plates is important since it prevents corrosion (as he says is now occurring) as the metal over time “cannot adequately withstand salt water and exposure to salt air”.The engineer claimed that the contractor is “hurrying up” the project by re-enforcing the old revetment. He said that at the beginning of the project the contractor was building the revetment with new materials but as the project duration diminished the old revetment was being used.However, according to Geoffrey Vaughn, Chief Sea and River Defence Officer, Public Works Ministry, the utilization of the old revetment is necessary. “If it is removed the area would give way,” he explained, adding that the contractor is attaching new materials to the old revetment.The engineer also insists that the level of the revetment should be considerably higher than the road and act as a safety barrier. However, with current works, after the revetment would have been erected and the road is reconstructed,NFL Jerseys Supply, the structure and road level would more than likely be in line. This he describes as “engineering to its poorest”.Meanwhile,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, another engineer, who is totally against utilising steel sheet piles to construct revetment stated, “The steel plates are slicing or separating the river-channel bed from the solid/compounding land surface, meaning that the hypotenuse (on the left hand side: out into the open channel bed) or the lips of the river shore bed,Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping, would gradually be smelted and eroded away,Cheap NFL Jerseys, leaving a depth of 9-12 metres from high tide water elevation.”He cautioned, “This is a time-bomb. The steel plates would be corroded /rotten and falling apart, leaving the earthen side walls at the depth of the outward channel, which is 9-12 metres deep. Take warning people, please take warning. Do not slice or separate the river foreshore bed from the solid surface soil,China Jerseys Wholesale, which is adjacent to the vibrating/heavy travelling the highway.”