City Settles $1 Million Lawsuit Against Contractors (WCP) 7/29/2019
The Huntsville City Council settled a $1 million lawsuit against the contractors who built the solid waste transfer station. The transfer station’s driveway pavement began cracking and crumbling within months of completion. The city council hired a construction law firm led by attorney Jeff Chapman of Austin for legal advice about the transfer station and the firm investigated the causes of the concrete failures. The investigation revealed that there were three primary causes of the concrete driveway failures.
“There was no lime stabilization provided to the subgrade. Instead of placing reinforcing steel in the concrete as the design documents would require, the contractor and subcontractor used a steel mesh material. And then the third major problem is that the pavement does not have the adequate thickness as it was designed to have” Chapman said in testimony during a previous city council meeting.
The cost to replace the driveways with rebar as required by the contract was estimated to cost approximately $1 Million and a lawsuit was filed against Weaver Consulting Group, Anchor Construction, and subcontractor Liberty Concrete and Construction, who are the contractors of the Transfer Station.
After the last executive session to discuss the result of the negotiations Chapman said, “I’m pleased to announce to the council and to the city that we have come to an agreement subject to approval by this council on a settlement for $1 million to be paid to the city by Anchor and Weaver which will compensate the city for its damages and costs in relation to the dispute with the transfer station.”
Huntsville Mayor Andy Brauninger thanked Chapman for his work in behalf of the City of Huntsville. “This is a great outcome from a problem that we have been facing. I think it’s going to be a real benefit to the citizens of Huntsville, and I appreciate your work on this in behalf of the city. I think now we can move forward” Brauninger said.
The city council also approved a $975,600 contract with Doughty Construction out of Huntsville to repair the transfer station’s driveways. The next city council meeting is August 6, 2019 at 6:00 pm.
