Granite announced that the company's joint venture, Yaquina River Constructors (YRC), and ODOT have resolved their claims in a settlement that includes a mutually agreed termination of the ODOT-YRC design-build contract on the US 20 Pioneer Mountain to Eddyville project.
ODOT had served Granite with a notice of default for the scheme, where work had been stalled since 2010 when it was discovered that several of the bridge columns had moved out of plumb.
"We are pleased to have reached a resolution to what has been an extremely challenging project for all parties involved," said Granite president and CEO James Roberts,. "While we were confident in our position regarding the disputes with ODOT, we believed it to be in the best interest of the company and its stakeholders to resolve this matter and avoid the cost and distraction of protracted litigation."
The agreement between ODOT and YRC ends YRC's contractual obligation to complete the project. Termination of the contract is by mutual agreement and not a termination for default.
The terms of the settlement also include that ODOT will waive claims it has against YRC, release to YRC approximately US$4.3m (£2.65m) in retention monies and rescind the notice of default it sent to YRC in March. Also, YRC will waive claims it has against ODOT and pay US$15m to ODOT. Granite has confirmed that the settlement will not have a material impact on the company's financial position or operations.
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