Fort Washington Way construction may be nearing an end but the legal fight is just beginning.

        The major contractor for Second Street has filed a claim against the city for $25 million in damages and for another $1.53 million the city has kept as a penalty for not meeting an Aug. 15 deadline.

        “The delays that we are currently experiencing are attributable to problems that we encountered from the very beginning of the project,” said Jack Zouhary, general counsel for Maumee, Ohio-based S.E. Johnson, which had two contracts worth a total of $55.8 million for the construction of Second Street and the connections to Interstate 71 and U.S. 50 (Columbia Parkway).

        “We were denied full access to the work area by the city and were forced to work out of sequence, making it impossible to hit the original schedule,” Mr. Zouhary said.

        Since Aug. 15, the city has been withholding $15,000 per day from S.E. Johnson's weekly payment, with city officials claiming the contractor's problems are of its own making.

        Opening dates for the connections from Second Street to I-71 and U.S. 50 east (Columbia Parkway) were delayed four times this fall.

        “It's just contractor nonperformance, plain and simple,” said Don Gindling, the city's project manager. “We've had the contract dates all along, and they continue to miss them.”

        Because the dispute could wind up in court, Mr. Gindling would not offer many specifics. But he said officials overseeing the project have kept close track of S.E. Johnson's progress and have proof of the claims against the contractor.

        Mr. Zouhary said that in addition to forcing a late start, the city made several changes in the middle of the project, while requiring a finishing surface that did not work.

        He said finishing work on the surface won't be complete until spring.

Second Street ramps scheduled to open soon
Payment dispute pits city, builder