Thursday, March 28, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Thursday, July 12, 2018
City Terminates Watts Constructors’ Right to Work on Joint Traffic Management Center
By News Release @ 8:43 PM :: 4730 Views :: Honolulu County

City Terminates Watts Constructors’ Right to Work on Joint Traffic Management Center

News Release from City and County of Honolulu, July 9, 2018

Honolulu – On Monday, July 9, the city sent a letter to Watts Constructors LLC (Watts), the general contractor for the Joint Traffic Management Center (JTMC), officially notifying Watts that its right to construct the JTMC was being terminated because of its failure to remedy numerous material defaults under the construction contract with the city. At the same time, the city sent a letter to Watts’ sureties, American Home Assurance Company and Zurich American Insurance Company, asking that they immediately assume Watts’ contractual duties or pay monetary damages in the amount of the bond. Attached to this press release are copies of the Termination Letter and the letter to the sureties.

On February 12, the city sent Watts a Default Letter notifying Watts of its defaults under the construction contract and of Watts’s opportunity to correct those defaults. Notwithstanding Watts’s repeated assurances that it would correct the defaults, substantial progress has not been made and the correction of significant defective work remains. The work includes correction of the following:

  • water infiltrating the building and failure to protect the roof;
  • Installation of the lobby glass walls (the “curtain wall”) assembly and the parapet walls and use of certified welders to perform the structural welds;
  • Access flooring installation that assures its structural integrity;
  • The fire escape stairways to meet building code requirements; and
  • Insufficient personnel and resources to complete the project.

“The Termination Letter and the letter to the sureties were issued only after many opportunities had been given to Watts to correct the various defaults,” said Donna Leong, the city’s Corporation Counsel. “Unfortunately, Watts did not address the defaults by taking necessary corrective actions and did not provide sufficient resources and personnel to correct those defaults. The city is taking this action because of Watts’ continuing delays, as we need to complete construction of the JTMC.”

Watts began work on the JTMC on April 29, 2015, and was required under the contract to complete the work on June 14, 2017. Out of the more than 110 reports issued to Watts for non-compliant work, about two-thirds remain uncorrected. A new construction completion date has not yet been set by the city pending a response from the sureties. The JTMC project site has been secured by the city. Workers needing to retrieve their tools will be allowed to do so by appointment made by their company with the Department of Transportation Services.

Background:
The Joint Traffic Management Center (JTMC) is a city and state collaboration to improve traffic management on O‘ahu among five agencies: the City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Transportation Services (DTS), Honolulu Police Department (HPD), Honolulu Fire Department (HFD), Honolulu Emergency Services Department (HESD), and the State of Hawai‘i’s Department of Transportation (HDOT). The JTMC is located at the corner of Alapa’i Street and King Street in Kaka‘ako.

—PAU—

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

808 Silent Majority

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federalist Society

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Homeschool Association

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Smokers Alliance

Hawaii State Data Lab

Hawaii Together

HIEC.Coop

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Moms for Liberty

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

Investigative Project on Terrorism

July 4 in Hawaii

Kakaako Cares

Keep Hawaii's Heroes

Land and Power in Hawaii

Legislative Committee Analysis Tool

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

Malama Pregnancy Center of Maui

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Military Home Educators' Network Oahu

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Christian Foundation Hawaii

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

No GMO Means No Aloha

Not Dead Yet, Hawaii

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Oahu Alternative Transport

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

OurFutureHawaii.com

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

PEACE Hawaii

People vs Machine

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

P.U.E.O.

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

ReRoute the Rail

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

Robotics Organizing Committee

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Sink the Jones Act

Statehood for Guam

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

UCC Truths

US Tax Foundation Hawaii Info

VAREP Honolulu

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii

Yes2TMT