Countywide : Contractor Fined for Airport Work Delay

John Wayne Airport officials are imposing late-completion fines on contractors for the first time since the architect for the new, $59-million passenger terminal was assessed $775,000 in penalties in 1988.

The first in what officials said could be a series of fines for failing to complete airport expansion work on time--$45,000--has been levied on Irvine-based Aman Brothers Inc. The Aman Brothers project totals $3.4 million.

Aman Brothers was fined at a rate of $1,500 a day. The firm completed the Michelson Drive bridge project at MacArthur Boulevard, in front of the new passenger terminal, last April 11, a month late, airport officials said.

The fine must still be approved by the Board of Supervisors.

However, Deputy Airport Manager Jan Mittermeier said the fine amount was reached after months of negotiations with the contractor, and the penalty is not expected to be challenged. The County Airport Commission is scheduled to review the matter today..

Aman Brothers officials could not be reached for comment late Tuesday.

Mittermeier said she knew of no other fines levied against contractors since architect Leason Pomeroy & Associates agreed to a settlement of $775,000 in 1988 for late delivery of design documents, incomplete work and errors.

More fines are expected, she said, as contractors at the work site finish their jobs as part of the airport’s $310-million expansion program, which includes the new terminal, new roads, aircraft taxi aprons and parking structures.

Mittermeier said she does not yet have details about pending fines.

Taylor Woodrow California Ltd., the prime contractor for the new passenger terminal, faces fines of $25,000 a day.

The terminal opening was originally scheduled for April 1 but construction delays forced county officials to postpone it until Sept. 15.

However, Taylor Woodrow is expected to receive credit for some delays it did not cause, so the issue of any fines against the firm has not been resolved.

Taylor Woodrow officials have said they would probably challenge any penalties in court.