From the Crosstown to courtroom

The Expressway Authority files suit against the roadway's builder, seeking $120-million for repairs.

TAMPA - The government agency expanding the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway sued Tuesday to recover $120-million for repairs to the troubled elevated commuter lanes.

The Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority filed a lawsuit against URS Corp., the project's general engineering consultant, after settlement talks stalled this week.

Officials are accusing URS of negligence for not sufficiently testing the soil under the Crosstown, which they say resulted in the collapse of a section of the 6-mile overhead roadway in April 2004.

Officials have discovered additional problems that require strengthening at least 150 of 218 underground supports. They fault URS for those problems, which led to an extra year of tornup roads and traffic snarls for commuters.

"What's wrong here is the responsible party is not stepping up and taking responsibility," said Ralph Mervine, interim executive director of the expressway authority. "We committed to this community to pursue all legal remedies to recover these damages."

For now, the government agency is paying the bills, which could swell from $105-million to $120-million with a protracted lawsuit. URS continues to work on repairs, even as accusations of blame fly back and forth.

In August, both sides came together for mediation. But when URS indicated it wouldn't meet a deadline for a settlement offer at the end of this week, the expressway decided talks were at an impasse, Mervine said. That's when it filed the lawsuit in Hillsborough County Circuit Court.

The move surprised URS officials, who said they felt they were making progress in mediation. URS's insurance carrier asked to postpone a meeting scheduled for late this week because a key representative fell ill, said URS senior regional vice president Tom Logan.

The company was hit with the lawsuit before the meeting could be rescheduled, said Logan, who also said URS hopes to return to the negotiating table.

The lawsuit will not affect construction on the expressway, scheduled to open to traffic in fall 2006.

The project's designers initially touted a bold plan for a sky-high commute. In the morning, traffic on the elevated lanes would flow westbound to downtown Tampa. Traffic could change directions in the afternoon, bringing cars back home to the Brandon suburbs.

Then, 18 months ago, a support column sank, causing a section of the elevated lanes to fold in a V-shape. Concerns mounted over the $370-million project, and commuters worried if the road would ever be safe.

Last fall, the expressway authority pegged the total costs of a fix at $80-million, Mervine said. The price climbed to $105-million in March, when officials knew what design the repairs would take.

In the lawsuit, the expressway authority is seeking more than $120-million in damages. Officials say a lengthy court case would drive up interest costs on the project, making the repairs more expensive.

The authority contends that URS failed to adequately analyze soils under the Crosstown, which vary widely from limestone rock to clay to sand to muck. In the lawsuit, it says that URS knew about the soil quality variations, but didn't test under each support column.

URS has stood by its work, arguing that tests on the support columns demonstrated that relatively few needed repairs.

"We've always stood by our design," said Logan of URS, who said pending litigation requires that he not discuss details. "We have a defense for all these allegations."

The expressway authority also is suing Figg Engineering Group, which was involved in designing a portion of the expressway over Interstate 75. Company officials did not return a call for comment.

Expressway authority officials are not ruling out another attempt at negotiation.

"It's totally up to URS and their insurers," said Mervine, the agency's leader. "We want them to accept responsibility for these damages and pay for them."

Hillsborough County headlines

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