A contractor building the second segment of Honolulu’s Skyline rail system has sued the city agency developing the project over $99.1 million in alleged unpaid extra time and work.
Shimmick/Traylor/Granite JV, a California- and Indiana- based joint venture involving Shimmick Construction Co., Traylor Bros Inc. and Granite Construction Inc., filed the lawsuit Thursday in state Circuit Court.
The partnership, also known as STG, claims that the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation failed to compensate STG for delays stemming from a prematurely issued contract and problems with utility relocation work that were beyond the company’s control and held up its work building 5.2 miles of elevated guideway and four stations between Aloha Stadium and Middle Street.
HART selected STG’s $875 million bid for the work in 2016, and before submitting its proposal the contractor said it raised the issue of utility line relocation problems and that HART assured the company that the utility issue would not hurt STG.
“While STG had been led to believe the utilities would not hinder or delay its progress, or, if hindered or delayed such would be fairly addressed, HART did not live up to these commitments,” the complaint said.
Construction on the guideway segment and four stations is close to complete, but the dispute over costs related to delays for STG could not be resolved in negotiations, according to the contractor.
“We did not take this action lightly and would have preferred to have resolved this matter amicably with HART, and have endeavored many times to do so, without success,” the company said Friday in a statement.
In response, HART officials said in a statement that they respect STG and the work the partnership has performed on what is known as the “airport” segment of Skyline but disagree with the lawsuit’s characterization of the nature of the claims and alleged damages.
HART officials also said Lori Kahikina, the agency’s executive director and CEO, takes HART relationships and obligations very seriously, and primarily the obligation to protect taxpayers and prudent spending of taxpayer money.
“While the issues described by STG arose prior to Kahikina’s administration, HART has been in active negotiations with STG about these claims for over two years in an effort to reach a fair settlement,” the agency said. “HART continues to work with STG daily to complete the next segment of the project.”
Construction of the airport segment is expected to be done by the end of this year. Adding electrical, communications, train control, signaling and other operating systems has begun. Train testing would follow that work, and HART projects that the airport segment will be ready for service in mid-2025.
An initial 11-mile segment with nine stations between East Kapolei and Aloha Stadium began passenger service June 30.
A third segment of what is expected to be Hawaii’s largest public works project ever, at a cost of $9.8 billion, is projected to be finished in 2031 and would extend the line with another six stations over three miles ending in Kakaako.
The original scope of work was to include two other stations at Ward Village and Ala Moana Center, but funding constraints led HART in 2022 to eliminate that piece, which could become an add-on later if more funding can be arranged.
