Three lawsuits have sprung from the Johnson Street Bridge project, although project director Jonathan Huggett expects two will likely be solved through negotiation.
The first involves PCL Constructors Westcoast Ltd., the firm that built the bridge. They allege they were saddled with extra costs due to inaccurate and incomplete design information.
The second involves design consultant, WSP Canada Group, who allege they have yet to be paid for the north side fendering.
JSB Project Director Jonathan Huggett says the city is also named in a third suit filed by PCL against the consultant they used to supervise steel fabrication in China.
" And the only reason the city is involved with that is because the city legally is required to hold back money from every contract until it's satisfied everybody is being paid. And once we became aware of a dispute between (the consultant) and PCL we've held back $113-thousand of PCL's money which sits in a city account, and we will wait for direction from the court on who we give that money to."
Huggett says lawsuits aren't unusual at the end of large infrastructure projects. He adds the city is receiving advice from one of the top construction lawyers in the country.