Wis. Department of Transportation: Safety is job No. 1 post

Daily Reporter (Milwaukee), Apr 18, 2008 by Paul Snyder

Work rebuilding Wisconsin Avenue in Oconomowoc will resume Monday following an April 2 explosion.

Wisconsin Department of Transportation officials said they have a plan to make sure the rest of the job goes smoothly.

"We want to reinstate public confidence in every aspect of the project," said John Oimoen, WisDOT's southeastern group project development chief. "It takes times to get it back after something like this happens."

Crews struck a gas pipe April 2 during work on the project, and the resulting explosion damaged two homes in the area and took out all but the bell tower of the First Baptist Church.

Since then, WisDOT, Oconomowoc, We Energies and the project's contractor, Dorner Inc. of Luxemburg, studied what happened and how to proceed safely and efficiently.

The project team Wednesday unveiled a new approach to the project with an elaborate chain of command and communication that places someone from We Energies on site at all times during work. It also requires daily meetings with subcontractors and We Energies, and it continues weekly meetings with local businesses and Dorner to remain up to date on all aspects of work.

The plan includes contact numbers for everyone involved in the project and primary contact names and numbers for each of the project's key players.

It's uncertain if WisDOT will use such detailed plans on other projects, Oimoen said. He said projects in urban corridors might need reassessment because of the number of unmarked pipes in the ground.

But as for creating new standards, nothing's in writing yet.

"There are probably things that we'll take back, look at and incorporate on other projects," he said.

WisDOT also is considering a more in-depth review of contractors' safety records before hiring them, but Don Miller, WisDOT project development director, said it's not as easy as penciling in a few amendments to the process.

WisDOT uses its prequalification forms to judge a contractor's ability to perform work on certain jobs. Miller said WisDOT might add an upfront question about recent Occupational Safety and Health Administration citations, but the he said he wonders where to stop.

"It's not saying we can't ask a question," he said. "But then what? 'Have you had an OSHA citation in the last five years? Have you had environmental citations?' We struggle with how much policing we can actually do and what we can legally do with the information."

Dorner Inc. paid 36 citations since 1998, and Oimoen said that while Oconomowoc held WisDOT's feet to the fire in the past few weeks, the department alone should not shoulder criticism for what happened.

"The contractor has responsibilities too," he said. "They're taking things on themselves."

Dorner officials did not return calls Thursday.

Oconomowoc City Administrator Diane Gard said the investigation into who was at fault in the explosion is still under way, and she gave no indication as to when it might be completed.