The biggest question that’s going to come up is, What else? What else is there about the FM Diversion that taxpayers don’t know? And the reason that’ll be the question is of the Diversion Planning Board’s own making. They brought attention back to the engineering of the biggest project this state has seen in years. The type of attention nobody would want.
Joel Paulsen, Executive Director of the Metro Flood Diversion Authority, was about to be placed on paid administrative leave indefinitely. That’s a long way of saying he was about to get fired. So rather than that, Paulsen resigned effective immediately. The very man that had taken the project into anonymity. It had become a project few were talking about, unless they drove by the construction.
It isn’t anymore though, all because of a fight over rebar. Fighting over what type of rebar to use in certain types of places. Paulsen disagreed with the project attorney and engineers, and agreed with work already done. Metal rebar without coating was used in areas that weren’t subject to the type of elements that would cause corrosion.
Another way to describe it is to use bridges as an example. Coated or epoxied rebar is used on a bridge deck, because salt is spread on it in the winter. Plain rebar is used on the pylons that support a bridge, because it won’t get eroded by salt. North Dakota Department of Transportation doesn’t even spec coated rebar for the pylons.
This will all come to head next Thursday. The full Diversion Board will meet with its planning committee to get answers to their questions. The first being, Why was their Executive Director offered his walking papers without the entire Board knowing? And the second being, Why is the issue of rebar bringing the project back onto the front page? Especially when the epoxied rebar wasn’t needed.
Good riding with you,
Joel
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