Plainview Company Helping Rebuild Boardwalk

Grace Industries, the Plainview firm hired to rebuild the beach town’s 2.2-mile boardwalk, is building the tropical hardwood decking across 10 bays, or 180 feet, this week before full construction commences the following week, according to an announcement posted on the city’s website.

“While it may appear at times that work has stalled, rest assured this is being used as a ‘preliminary-assessment build out’ prior to full construction which starts on June 17,” reads the announcement. “The purpose of this preliminary build is to determine how long certain procedures will take.”

The announcement continues: “Please note that we are still on schedule to have a half-mile portion (five blocks/20% of the boardwalk) completed by the 100-day milestone of July 23.”

City Manager Jack Schnriman and Jim LaCarrubba, the city’s commissioner of public works, told Patch as much last week after Tuesday’s City Council meeting, when questions arose about the work performed to date to rebuild the boardwalk that was heavily damaged in Hurricane Sandy last October.

“If they fail to meet that milestone there is a $15,000 penalty a day for each day until it is met,” Schnriman said about the penalties the city will deduct from invoices submitted by Grace Industries if the firm fails to meet contractual milestones on the $44.2 million construction project.

LaCarrubba also talked to CBS News last week about the project that started with a series of public input meetings to discover what features residents would like the new boardwalk to include, with storm-resistance materials ranking as the top priority. “If we would have just built what was here, yeah it would have been done; it wouldn’t have accomplished anything; it would have been a big waste of taxpayer money.”