Should Bob Dylan get the blame for road repair delays in downtown Paterson?

PATERSON — Maybe Bob Dylan should get the blame for delaying the long-awaited $9.8 million reconstruction of pothole-plagued River Street.

What’s the legendary troubadour’s connection to a contract for fixing crumbling asphalt in Paterson?

The Montana Construction Corp. of Lodi is blaming the filming of “A Complete Unknown,” a movie about Dylan, in downtown Paterson for creating traffic problems that stalled its driver on his way to City Hall to submit a bid for the road repair project.

Municipal officials say Montana’s driver arrived too late to meet the 11 a.m. deadline for bids on April 9. The City Council had been scheduled to vote Tuesday night to give the contract to another firm.

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But Montana Construction Corp. filed a lawsuit earlier in the day on Tuesday, and a state judge subsequently issued an order blocking the council from approving the contract.

In its lawsuit, Montana claimed its driver overcame the film crew delay and arrived at the City Hall bid opening at 10:58 a.m., with two minutes to spare, but was improperly turned away. Montana’s lawsuit said its proposed price was more than $100,000 lower than that of Spiniello Companies of Livingston, which the city had determined was the low bidder.

Superior Court Judge Rudolph Filko has scheduled a May 22 hearing on the dispute. That leaves the high-profile road construction project in limbo for at least a month. If Montana prevails, that could push the start of the River Street work into next year, city officials said.

River Street a 'grave danger to motorists'

Mayor Andre Sayegh has been talking about the need for the River Street repairs for the past three years.

"River Street presents a grave danger to motorists, particularly during periods of heavy rainfall, which often result in severe flooding that compromises road safety,” Sayegh said in a statement Wednesday. “The necessity of rescue operations in past instances underscores the urgency of implementing improvements to mitigate these risks and has been one of my main priorities as mayor.”

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Paterson plans to use money from the city’s American Rescue Plan COVID-relief aid to pay for the work.

“Any delays not only exacerbate the existing hazards but also hinder the city's ability to address this issue promptly,” the mayor added. “I am confident that the city's Purchasing Department acted appropriately and that the judiciary will act swiftly to resolve this matter and enable the city to proceed with the vital work needed to enhance the safety of River Street.”

As part of its lawsuit, Montana submitted a certified statement by Nick Wright, the driver the company sent to deliver the bid on April 9. Wright said he left Montana’s yard on Contant Avenue in Lodi at 10:16 a.m.

“This was not the first bid that I delivered to Paterson, and I knew where I was going,” Wright wrote.

Under New Jersey’s government bidding process, all competitors’ price proposals are unveiled at the same time in order to avoid giving anyone an unfair opportunity to undercut their rivals.

Related: Timothee Chalamet comes to Jersey City's White Mana to film Bob Dylan biopic

Montana’s driver said his “trip to Paterson City Hall took longer than usual” on April 9 because of traffic caused by the downtown movie film crew.

Wright said he called his supervisor at 10:46 a.m. and was told to park as close as possible to City Hall and to run with the company’s bid to the municipal purchasing office. The driver said he parked at 10:52 a.m. and ran to City Hall on his way to the fourth-floor purchasing office.

At that office, Wright said he was directed to go to another room, across the hall, where the bids were being opened.

In that room, Wright said, the person opening the bids told him he was too late. Wright said the time listed on his phone was 10:58 a.m. and that none of the bids had been opened yet. He said he immediately called his supervisor.

Among the exhibits in the lawsuit is a call log from Wright’s phone showing the call to his supervisor at 10:59 a.m.

Paterson’s first assistant law director, Dominick Stampone, submitted a court brief on Tuesday arguing that the time on Wright’s phone should not be used to determine the deadline for the bid submissions.

“To use a clock other than the one that is in the Purchasing Office is to permit the city to now make subjective interpretations of its bid requirements,” Stampone wrote. “This may be a close call regarding the timing but it is absolutely required that a hard deadline, even one that is measured in minutes, be in place to ensure fairness and transparency in the submission process.”

Montana’s complaint does not say exactly how much lower its bid would have been compared with Spiniello’s price. Stampone’s letter warned that delaying the road repair could result in a higher cost to taxpayers.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ road repair delays be blamed on Bob Dylan movie?