Since June, a $4.2 million project to replace the Morrison Bridge's old steel grating has created daily traffic headaches, thanks to lane closures, frustrating detours and rerouted

bus routes.

Apparently, it has been a wasted summer of gridlock.

Work on the replacement deck barely began before

ordered

of Ridgefield, Wash., to stop. The county is on the verge of firing the contractor, citing myriad environmental, safety and operational breaches, according to records obtained by The Oregonian.

Meanwhile, the contractor contends that it's the victim of "an act of God" and overzealous bureaucrats who say toxic construction debris fell into the river during a July rainstorm.

Bottom line, the midspan construction zone has turned into a dead zone. For five weeks, equipment has sat idle near a gaping hole in the deck as the two sides lock horns.

Transportation officials can't remember the last time a contractor was terminated in the middle of major project in Oregon, much less one that left a normally bustling downtown Portland bridge partially disassembled.

"At this point," said county spokesman Hank Stern, "we just don't know what's going to happen."

One thing appears certain: The Morrison's new deck, originally slated for completion before Thanksgiving, won't be finished until sometime in 2012.

Family operated Conway Construction said it has attempted to resolve things with the county, but says officials seem intent on kicking the company off the project. "I'm optimistic that we can negotiate our differences with the county," said David Conway, company president. "We just want to go back to work."

At the center of the dispute is Conway Construction's reliance on a containment system of large plastic tarps to capture debris before it falls into the Willamette River.

County officials wouldn't delve into details during negotiations with Conway. But documents indicate that the containment system was troublesome from nearly the beginning.

On July 5, the county issued its first order to stop work after sparks and drops of molten metal tore holes in the tarps.

Conway fixed the tears and resumed work. But a rainstorm on the night of July 17 ripped one tarp from its anchors. The county issued its second work stoppage the next day, saying the tarp dumped material into the river when it collapsed.

David Conway insists that there was nothing in the tarps that night. "We vacuumed the tarps before we left," he said. The one that failed, he added, wasn't even under a work zone.

But the

disagrees. A few days after the storm, the agency notified Conway Construction that it had violated state environmental laws.

In a letter to the contractor, the DEQ said the company's failure to "maintain the integrity of the containment system" caused paint debris from the bridge to escape into the river. The paint waste could have contained lead, chromium, arsenic and cadmium, the agency wrote.

On Aug. 2, the county notified Conway that it intended to terminate its contract. The company has until Sept. 2 to submit a containment system guaranteed not to fail.

Commuters have noticed that something is amiss on the Morrison.

"You can see how they've just stopped after finishing less than a quarter of one side of the bridge," said Tracy Thomas, who started walking to work across the Morrison because it's quicker than taking TriMet's detour of the downtown-bound Line 15 onto the Hawthorne Bridge. "I've been thinking, 'There's no way this is going to get done in time.' "

Since it opened in 1958,

has required an easy-does-it crossing for motorists, especially on rainy days.

Conway, which has handled 10 bridge projects since 1982, was the lowest bidder to replace the grating with solid-but-lightweight fiber-reinforced polymer panels on the drawbridge's leafs.

When construction began, Morrison traffic was squeezed to one lane in each direction. With westbound access denied from Southeast Morrison Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard east of the river, only southbound Interstate 5 and Interstate 84 westbound traffic have been able to use the bridge to get to downtown. Also, the bike and pedestrian path on the south side has been closed.

"Almost every day, there's a huge traffic chain reaction," said Robert Sherrard, who drives from his Southeast Portland home to his job as a software project manager in downtown. "The Morrison project has pushed more people onto the highways, nearby streets and other bridges."

Meanwhile, documents show the county and the contractor have engaged in a relentless back and forth.

Conway says county officials recommended the tarp system and maintains that the contract allows for "an act of God" such as the torrential July rainstorm. The county, meanwhile, doesn't like the contractor's site safety plan and wants a new one.

David Conway said he has submitted plans for a hard-deck "Cadillac containment system." The county said it still isn't good enough.

In a letter to Conway Construction on Thursday, a county engineer noted that "it appears we are still a long ways" from a resolution.

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