California

Contractor Who Managed Building of Salesforce Transit Center Sues for $150 Million

Webcor/Obayashi Joint Venture filed a lawsuit against the Transbay Joint Powers Authority for breach of contract

The general contractor that managed construction of San Francisco's troubled $2.2 billion transit terminal is suing the agency in charge of the project alleging faulty design and mismanagement.

The joint venture of Webcor Builders and Obayashi Corp. filed the lawsuit Tuesday in San Francisco.

The lawsuit claims design and planning mistakes sent construction soaring and led to costs overruns that cost the joint venture $150 million.

The contractor said it submitted 12,000 requests for information and 1,603 change order requests to officials with the Transbay Joint Powers Authority during construction of the terminal in downtown San Francisco.

The project has been mired in litigation.

The terminal closed last month after cracks were found in steel beams.

Agency spokeswoman Christine Falvey did not immediately return a phone message Wednesday seeking comment.

Mohammed Nuru, chair of the board of directors, Transbay Joint Powers Authority provided the following statement:

"The Transbay Joint Powers Authority will hold Webcor/Obayashi Joint Venture responsible for their contractual commitment to deliver this project to the people of the Bay Area and the state of California. While we are still reviewing the details of the complaint, at first glance, many of the accusations that deal with delays to the project pre-date Webcorโ€™s repeated commitments to deliver the transit center on time.

"The TJPA remains focused on reopening the transit center as soon as safely possible to the public and we hope that all parties will join us in that effort."

The transit center was shut down Sept. 25 when a cracked beam was discovered at the center.

Copyright The Associated Press
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