|
Parking garage OK say aviation authority, builder
By Matthew French
Staff Writer
The dispute between the Charleston County Aviation Authority and Gulfstream Construction Co., the prime contractor on the 1,200-space airport parking garage that is currently under construction, has simmered down for the time being. Both sides say they expect the structure will be completed within the guidelines of the contract and before the 2005 holiday season.
But a two-week long work stoppage that occurred in January could still cause problems in the future.
The aviation authority ordered Gulfstream and its subcontractors to stop work in mid-January to address concerns about the quality of work being done at the site. Most notably, the authority worried that the concrete wasn’t curing at the strength necessary to fulfill contractual obligations.
“Our staff and engineers had a series of issues with the contractor that we felt they weren’t addressing,” says David Jennings, chairman of the aviation authority and attorney with Rosen, Rosen and Hagood. “We didn’t think they were hearing us on some complaints and the work stoppage was designed to get their attention.”
The testing company the aviation authority’s engineers selected found that some of the concrete wasn’t curing at the agreed-upon strength. Gulfstream had its own testing done, and got different results.
“However, since the work stoppage, the (testing company’s and Gulfstream’s) test results for new concrete pours have tested remarkably similarly,” Jennings says. “So for the work done since the stop order, the issue is resolved. We do still have some concern over pours done prior to the stoppage.”
The authority also had concerns about the level of supervision on the job. Gulfstream, according to the contract, was supposed to have a quality assurance supervisor on site, something the aviation authority says did not happen.
“Those are two specific issues that come to mind, but the list was longer than that,” Jennings says. “That just gives a flavor of the difficulties we were facing.”
He adds that he fully expects a legal fight down the road about payments that were suspended during the work stoppage.
“I think there will probably be an issue between the lawyers later,” says Jennings. “We feel we stopped the project for cause, and the two-week delay came solely as a result of shortcomings.”
Gulfstream president Jim Woods says he won’t comment about any potential legal tussles at the moment, but neither would he rule them out.
“There are too many other people involved in this,” Woods says. “We’re the general contractor, but a lot of other subcontractors were impacted by the stoppage, too. Hopefully we’ll get the project done and it won’t be an issue.”
Woods says Gulfstream’s intent is to meet the owner’s expectations “despite what’s happened.”
Given the delay caused by the stoppage, the aviation authority has since eliminated one section of the contract that called for Gulfstream to construct a rain cover that links the parking garage with the terminal.
“Deleting it reduced the price of the contract, but only slightly; our number is about $28.7 million,” Jennings says.
While Jennings couldn’t give a specific time as to when the rain cover would be re-addressed, it is likely the aviation authority will wait until after the first of the year, after the holiday rush has passed.
Despite the delay caused by the stop work order, both sides say they anticipate the building will still be completed in the time allotted in the contract.
“Our intention is that the project will be completed about mid-October,” Jennings says. “That is still our intent and requirement.”
Gulfstream was required to provide the aviation authority with a revised schedule by Feb. 25, but Woods didn’t want to comment on the specifics of that revised schedule before the aviation authority had time to review and respond to it.
“I will say that we fully expect to get the work completed prior to the holiday season,” Woods says.
Matthew French covers architecture, construction and engineering for the Business Journal. E-mail him at mfrench@crbj.com.
|
E-Mail This Article
Printer-Friendly Version