Caltrans is ending its relationship with the main contractor of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge's new eastern span and will seek damages because of project delays and shoddy workmanship that plagued the $6.4 billion project.
The joint venture American Bridge/Fluor built many parts of the bridge, including a system of seismic stabilization rods that failed after installation on the bridge's east pier.
The Toll Bridge Program Oversight Committee unanimously approved the contract's conclusion Thursday, as well as a pair of motions that will allow Caltrans to seek damages against the builder and a joint-venture design firm.
"This is a bittersweet day," committee chair Steve Heminger said. "We are acknowledging folks made mistakes and folks need to pay for those mistakes."
Caltrans is seeking an $8 million credit from ABF, and filing an $8 million claim against joint-venture design firm T.Y. Lin International and Moffatt & Nichol. That's two-thirds of a $24 million failure of anchoring rods on the bridge's east pier. A committee investigation in 2013 found Caltrans was responsible for one-third of the failure.