Construction firm lawsuit says this is why Highway 31 extension is taking so long
A construction company says an inspection firm's demands and slow responses contributed to delays in extending Highway 31, which now has a target completion of Fall 2018.
Recently, Flatiron Constructors Inc., filed a suit in Horry County against Transystems Corp. Both companies were hired to work on the construction of South Carolina Highway 31 between highways 544 and 707.
That project is ongoing and Horry County spokeswoman Kelly Moore stated that a new completion date has not been set as Department of Transportation officials continue to negotiate with the contractor. There were some weather delays from hurricanes, records rains and other activity. The best estimate for completion is for Fall 2018, according to Moore.
When companies broke ground on the 4-mile stretch in 2013 the estimated completion date was 2017.
According to the Flatiron suit, it served as the construction company while Transystems provided engineering and inspection services.
Flatiron alleges that Transystems knew it needed timely review and approval related to the project to not slow the work. But, Transystems delayed reviews, approvals and added to procedures and has made the project take longer than planned, the filing contends.
One example happened on March 30, 2017, when Transystems told Flatiron that some metal plates for a bridge were not approved for installation, according to the filing. Flatiron submitted a repair procedure the same day.
Flatiron stated the plates were part of work that was to start on April 3. It wasn't until April 5 when Transystems rejected the repair proposal and "failed to timely approve additional proposed repair procedures," that delayed the project, according to the filing.
When the company approved the repair protocol the products were not commercially available, the suit contends.
Flatiron states in the filing that Transystems actions led to project delays, which subjected Flatiron to higher construction costs and penalties.
The suit asks for an unspecified amount of money.
Transystems officials did not respond in time for this report.
This story was originally published April 30, 2018 at 4:40 PM with the headline "Construction firm lawsuit says this is why Highway 31 extension is taking so long."