Lawsuit over Westmoreland courthouse garage project settled

A lawsuit filed by a Allegheny County construction company to rebuild an underground garage and public courtyard at the Westmoreland County Courthouse has been settled.

Commissioners on Thursday voted to pay Carl Walker Construction of Robinson an additional $700,000 for work the company said it was required to perform to complete the more-than-$8.7 million project.

The company sued last year after the county withheld payment of a nearly $1 million invoice for what it claimed was additional work outside the scope of the original contract. It contended the county was responsible for design flaws and unexpected construction issues that increased the final price tag by about $2 million.

As of August 2024, according to court documents, the county still owed more than $968,000 to install additional concrete columns and beams, walls, foundations and other repairs that were needed to finish the project.

A request for comment from the company went unanswered Thursday.

Commissioners Sean Kertes and Doug Chew voted in favor of the payment to settle the lawsuit. Commissioner Ted Kopas abstained from the vote, saying he was not in office when the project was first approved and contracts for the work were awarded.

Commissioners hired the Carl Walker Construction in March 2022 to tear down and rebuild the underground parking structure. Officials feared it was in danger of collapse because of damage caused by water infiltration into its concrete foundation.

The project was at first expected to take about six months and cost no more than $7 million to complete.

Construction delays and redesigns resulted in the work taking more than 16 months before the garage reopened in July 2023; the courtyard was finished a month later.

According to transcripts on file as part of the lawsuit, attorneys for the company and county reached a settlement in August, which is a deal that will be finalized once commissioners approve payment at a public meeting.

As part of that agreement, the company said it will repair water damage caused by leaks in concrete planters in the courtyard, uphold warranties to maintain the garage and courtyard, repair leaks and pressure wash the structures.

Commissioners said unspent American Rescue Plan funds will be used to pay the settlement. Federal covid-relief grant money was used to pay for the initial $7 million contract for the construction work and tapped again in April 2024 to cover an additional $1 million in costs.