The state Department of Transportation says more than $70 million is the price tag for fixing cracked pontoons and modifying pontoon construction for the new Highway 520 floating bridge.
The department said Tuesday that $48.8 million will go to contractor Kiewit-General-Manson to fix four pontoons that had developed cracks.
Officials acknowledged in February design error led to the crack, which prompted changes to the construction of the pontoons. Those modifications will cost $22.4 million.
The department says the $70 million will come from a "risk" reserve created for unforeseen issues. After the $70 million payout, the risk reserve now stands at $100 million.
The new floating bridge project has a budget of $2.7 billion.
