Contractors face penalties for incomplete street projects
Posted on Wednesday, May 14, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/hl/News/24433/
Contractors of two street improvement projects could face monetary damages for not completing the projects on time.
Construction on Hico Street and Country Club Road was expected to be completed in December, but weather and utility relocations caused delays in the projects, the contractors said.
City staff might charge the contractors what’s called “ liquidated damages ” or something that’s charged to the contractor if the project is not completed in a specified time, said Stacy Vaughn, communication assistant for Siloam Springs.
“ The city will evaluate each project and contract after completion to determine if contract terms were met, ” Vaughn said. “ We do foresee imposing liquidated damages on contractors that have not completed projects in accordance with their contracts. ”
Wilson Brothers Construction Co. of Alma is the contractor for the $ 1. 5 million Country Club Road project.
J. Johnson Construction Co. of Rogers is the contractor for the $ 1. 7 million Hico Street project.
Kris Scates, superintendent for J. Johnson Construction, said he was making the final walk through with city staff on the project on Monday.
Some minor things remain such as debris in the drains, but it’s otherwise completed, he said.
Scates said he was unaware of liquidated damages his company might face on the project.
The project was planned to take 240 working days, according to the contract.
The number of working days for each project will be determined after they are completed, Vaughn said.
“ While it is somewhat subjective, the city basically defines a work day as a day when crews are able to perform work, ” Vaughn said.
The Country Club Road project was planned to take 180 working days.
The project should be completed by the end of this month, said Thomas Edgmon, project manager for Wilson Brothers Construction.
Edgmon said he did not know of any liquidated damages the contractor might face.
City Administrator David Cameron said in January that the contractor could face a $ 500 per-day charge for each day the project was not completed past the expected completion date.
“ Liquidated damages are agreed to by both parties at the start date of the contract, ” Vaughn said.
Rain delayed both the Country Club Road and the Hico Street projects for several weeks this year.
The cold winter weather from last season prevented crews from laying asphalt in winter, Scates said.
Also, the project was delayed for a month because telephone and cable companies did not move their utilities to make way for the project.
Hico Street, from Cheri Whitlock Drive to Oakcrest Road, was widened from two lanes to three lanes, at 38-feet wide, and will be classified as a city collector street. A sidewalk was placed along the east side of the street.
Country Club Road will be two lanes and also have a sidewalk along the east side of the road.
These are two projects that are being paid for with the $ 9 million bond issue the city approved Feb. 6, 2007.
The Dogwood Street project, which runs between Tulsa and Jefferson streets, is now under way and is expected to be completed this summer.
Ground Zero Construction is the contractor for the $ 520, 000 project.
Other street improvement projects that are planned to start in the next few months are Verbena, Wisteria, North Carl, the intersection of Main and Lincoln and Tahlequah, Vaughn said.