After Bechtel and San Jose Hit Impasse, Hensel Phelps Steps In
Back in May it appeared that Bechtel Infrastructure, the country’s largest design-build contractor, won the $712-million contract to upgrade Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport. In mid-August everything changed when negotiations between the city of San Jose and Bechtel broke down. Bechtel did not agree with San Jose’s insurance requirements regarding the amount of general liability coverage and the duration of liquidation damages. The city quickly reacted and announced negotiations with Greeley, Colo.-based Hensel Phelps Construction Co.
According to Valerie Kazanjian, a Bechtel spokesperson: “We did not ‘lose’ the contract with the City of San Jose. We were in the contract negotiation stage with the [city] and could not reach an agreement over several issues. The relevant contract issues on which the agreement could not be reached were very specific to the city of San Jose’s contracting policies and requirements and our anticipated role on this design-build contract.”