I-Drive bridge designer could get more than $1 million

The Orange County Commission has approved another $197,000 to the designer of the International Drive pedestrian bridge from the Convention Center to the Hyatt, and if the money is all spent, that designer would get over a million dollars for the bridge.

Public Works Director Mark Massaro says the money will go to post design services that will be needed during construction.  "It's not unusual to have the original consultant on post design services. You are looking at an additional $200,000 to assure -- $197,000 -- to assure that 10 million dollar bridge is being built correctly."

Massaro hopes and believes that not all $197,000 will be spent.  "We have the original design consultant on board for services to answer these types of questions. It doesn't mean we all the money is going to be totally spent. It is on an as needed basis."

Those questions would pertain to the technical side of helping the construction contractor do exactly what the designer had intended according to Massaro.  "What we want to do is make sure that the specifications that we have put in the contract are met, and that the shop drawings and the materials meet those specifications."

Massaro says if this money were not approved by the Commission before hand, it would cost taxpayers more to build the bridge because each small item would have to come back before the County Commission.

"Any time there's a delay, it's an expense to him and then he in turn will ask us to pay for his time."

The construction on the bridge has already begun and we will check back when it is complete to see how much of the $197,000 allocation was actually spent.