BOSTON (AP) - Massachusetts Auditor Suzanne Bump’s office blames the state Department of Transportation for excessive delays that have wasted up to $2.6 million in repairs to a Gloucester bridge.

The transportation department set out to repair the A. Piatt Andrew Bridge, which carries Route 128, in 2006 after the bridge had been given a structural rating of ”serious’ in August 2005.

The auditor’s report says transportation workers would have saved years of work and millions of dollars if they inspected the bridge before beginning construction.

Instead, the report says crews relied on an outdated inspection that didn’t include several significant structural issues found only after work had begun.

Transportation department officials say inspections are now performed before designs are started on repair and preservation contracts.

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