Reply #26: From the local State Senator's blog post in July, 2011

[FarCenter]

The east end of the main span has been cleaned and primed. The additional areas of deterioration to the structural steel have been fully exposed. MassDOT continues to work with the design consultant (Gill Engineering) to determine the appropriate course of action to implement repairs. Based on the additional scope of steel repairs and the delays that occurred as a result of the issues surrounding the prior painting subcontractor, the project’s completion date is expected to be extended until sometime in spring/summer 2012.

http://www.tarrtalk.com/2011/07/piatt-andrew-bridge-update.html

I'm not sure what the issue is, other than perhaps the paint should not have been left to deteriorate to that extent. But politicians are generally penney wise and pound foolish when it comes to infrastructure maintenance. It's hard to cut a ribbon on a paint job.