Ludington Library Won't Open Until at Least April

will now not reopen until at least April, according to township officials.

Lower Merion Township’s flagship library and the busiest library in Montgomery County, Ludington closed in 2010 for a $9.1 million renovation. Issues with construction first delayed the project to fall of 2011, then to early 2012 and now to “the second quarter of 2012,” said Township Manager Doug Cleland.

After construction is completed in the first quarter, it will take between six and 10 weeks to move in shelving, computers, books and reopen, he added.

“If it takes longer, it takes longer,” Cleland said. “There’s a lot of coordination to get the library open, so we’re hopeful that it will open in the first part of the second quarter. We’re trying to get a more concrete schedule from the contractors.”

Of the four prime contractors—general contractor, plumbing, electrical and heating—there have been complications with two of them.

The plumbing contractor, Altchem, was  for not complying with its contract. In December, Cleland reported to township commissioners it because they had begun work again on the sprinkler system.

Issues with Altchem and with the project’s general contractor, CSI, began to arise mid-year 2011, “when the project already should have been winding up,” Cleland said. “And there was so much work to be done, and it wasn’t finished. It’s still not finished.”

In addition to performance problems with contractors, bad weather was also a “substantial factor” in the project’s schedule, between snowstorms last winter and rainstorms from and Hurricane Lee. was similarly affected by bad weather, representatives have said.

However, despite the delays Cleland said he believes the project remains “clearly within the original budget.” Project bids came in substantially below what was budgeted, though there are some billings in dispute, he said.

Two libraries closed

. An in the hopes of avoiding some of the contractor concerns they saw with the Ludington Library project.

“There’s no direct link between having an owner’s rep and having a project go smoothly,” Cleland said. “There are so many different companies and so many different issues with weather and cooperation between each other. A lot of things have to be done well in order for a project to be completed.”

Lower Merion Township Commissioner Scott Zelov, who represents Bryn Mawr and Haverford (Ward 10), said the project is burdened by the requirement on public projects to have four prime contractors. A private project, by comparison, would have one prime contractor with multiple subcontractors, he said, adding he would encourage the legislature to change the burdens placed on such public projects.

“I can’t think of a good reason behind the rationale for that requirement,” Zelov said. “They all have contracts with the township, and it’s much harder to manage a project when there are four primes rather than one prime. A private project would never be structured this way.”

Zelov told Patch, as he has said at township commissioners’ meetings, that he thought they should delay the Bala Cynwyd Library project, but he said since the project was approved and is moving forward that he hopes the owner's rep will make that construction go more smoothly. 

Zelov is looking forward to Ludington's reopening, he said.

“It’s a very actively used library, and many are anxious for it to reopen, and so I hope it reopens soon,” Zelov said.