Port Warnings to Center Excavator Get Tougher

With the months-long delay in the excavation of San Diego’s $125-million waterfront convention center showing no signs of ending, a distressed San Diego Unified Port District is now issuing what amounts to an ultimatum to the contractor.

“It’s coming to a head,” said William Rick, a port commissioner and chairman of a subcommittee overseeing construction of the center, now scheduled to open in August, 1988. “When we talk to our lawyers . . . that has to be a pretty obvious sign.”

Rick’s remarks followed a rare closed-door session of port commission members Tuesday at which the excavation contract held by HuntCor Inc. of Phoenix was discussed. Rick, who declined to specify details, said the purpose of the meeting was to talk about a possible lawsuit against the firm, which could lead to hiring another company to complete the work.

“What I can tell you is that (Port District) letters (to HuntCor) have become progressively more pointed, and we’re using more formal language” requiring the company to live up to the specifications in its $5.4-million contract.

HuntCor, whose officials have steadfastly refused to comment on the delays, was supposed to have finished digging the foundation for the center, located on 11 acres at the foot of 5th Avenue next to San Diego Bay, on Oct. 31. The port district’s contract with HuntCor, approved May 6, gave HuntCor 165 days to accomplish its work.

Some of the delay can be attributed to unexpected work in moving a large storm drain, a lag in the shipment of sheet pilings and a continuing problem with water seeping into the pit from the bay. HuntCor’s deadline was extended to last Dec. 6 to reflect those unexpected snags.

But port officials believe the fundamental problem lies in HuntCor’s lack of management attention to the project.

“It’s amateur hour down there,” said Rick, who owns a San Diego engineering company. “I can’t believe they are deliberately screwing up the job.”

What’s more likely, Rick said, is that HuntCor, which does construction work across the country, is involved in so many other jobs that “we don’t get attention.”

“They tell us, ‘Don’t worry,’ but they won’t acknowledge the fact they are over schedule,” Rick said.

HuntCor’s actions in the next week or so will be the most important, he said. It will become clear by then, Rick said, whether the company has taken the port commission’s concern seriously.

Along with political embarrassment over the delay, there is a practical effect. Three weeks from today, bids are to be opened for the $101.5-million second phase of the center’s construction. But without a completed excavation, work on the second phase can’t begin, which in turn could result in pushing back the center’s opening once again.

A Jan. 2 status report by the port district’s engineering staff said HuntCor’s work may not be done until April 11.

And still another delay could occur if the port commissioners kick out HuntCor and hire another contractor to do the work, although Rick declined to talk about such a scenario.

“As far as I can tell, the situation hasn’t improved,” Rick said. “The port staff is expressing its distress and calling for remedies.”