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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Department of Transportation filed a lawsuit Thursday against design-builder Flatiron/Harper Joint Venture to resolve issues on the state Route 92 project.
The project, which expanded the highway and added the state’s first commuter lanes to a six-mile stretch of state Route 92 — the Timpanogos Highway — from Highland to I-15, began in May 2009 and was ultimately scheduled for completion in October 2011. The roadway, which is heavily used by northern Utah County residents and is the main connector to American Fork Canyon, was opened to traffic in August 2012 though some issues have persisted even since then.
In the suit filed in 4th District Court, UDOT claims the project was not completed on time and beset with poor workmanship issues and cost overruns.
UDOT has pursued and will continue to pursue good faith efforts to resolve the issues surrounding quality and scheduling with the design-builder, the lawsuit says. UDOT says it believes this step is in the best interests of the public to ensure that Utah’s taxpayers get fair value under the agreement with the design-builder.
In the lawsuit, UDOT seeks to recover nearly $29.4 million in damages. Flatiron declined to offer any comment on the lawsuit Thursday.
UDOT officials said they encountered "unprecedented" difficulties with a $150 million project to create a commuter roadway in Utah County.
The problems included cracks in concrete, gaps beneath the roadway and cosmetic fixes that appeared to have been put in place to conceal serious structural issues, UDOT officials and the lawsuit states. The project was also behind schedule, costing the contractor thousands of dollars a day in late-project fees.
In March 2012, Jose Rodriguez, UDOT's Timpanogos Highway project manager, said it was normal to have some quality issues with any road project. But problems with road construction performed by a Flatiron/Harper Joint Venture were extensive, he said.
"To have this level of quality issues and to be this far beyond our completion date is unusual," Rodriguez said. "The magnitude and severity of the issues are greater on this project."
