ARDOT recommends putting company working on Saline Co. I-30 project into default of contract
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Arkansas transportation officials said they are ready to change the contract status for the company working on the much-delayed Interstate 30 widening project in Saline County.
During an Arkansas Highway Commission meeting Tuesday, officials with the Arkansas Department of Transportation recommended that Johnson Brothers Corporation, a Southland Company, be placed in default of contract.
If the company is placed into default, the contractor will be removed from the project and management of the operation would be turned over to the contract’s insurer, Zurich American Insurance Company. Zurich American would then decide on a new contractor.
This all centers around the effort to expand a part of I-30 in Saline County to six lanes. The 5.5-mile stretch would run from Highway 70 to Sevier Street.
I-30 in Saline County gets ready for widening efforts starting Tuesday, June 1
Work on the $187-million project started in May of 2019 and was originally scheduled to be completed in November of 2022. The completion date on the contract was then slid to April 2023 due to what ARDOT described as “unforeseen field conditions.”
It is now ten months after that deadline, and the work on the project is far from done. ARDOT stated that the latest estimate for the projected to be completed is January 2025, more than two years later than the original estimate.
Transportation officials said Tuesday that they believe moving Johnson Brothers into default must happen to make sure the expansion project is completed.
Arkansas Highway Commission Chairman Alec Farmer noted that there is still time for Johnson Brothers to respond before final action is taken.
“The Arkansas Highway Commission will consider the facts presented by ARDOT and any proposed remediation by the Contractor before making a final decision on whether to grant ARDOT’s recommendation,” Farmer said in a release. “The ultimate goal is to complete this project as expeditiously as possible and provide a safe road for the traveling public.”
Johnson Brothers has 10 days to respond to the Highway Commission with their recommendation on how to move forward with the project.
Earlier this month, KARK 4 News reported that ARDOT had already withheld more than $20 million in funds from Johnson Brothers for being past the deadline on the project.
ARDOT expects tens of millions in penalties for I-30 contractor
If the project is not completed until the current January 2025 expected date, the company would end up with nearly $50 million in withholdings from the state.
ARDOT officials noted that maintenance of the interstate, which would include work like pothole repair, is handled by a different company under a separate contract and would not be affected by the outcome of the commission’s decision on the expansion project.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK.
