Completion of a privately financed 10-mile extension of Virginia’s Interstate 95 express lanes will be pushed past the originally scheduled Oct. 2022 completion deadline, as the state’s toll road operator and contractor work to determine responsibility for addressing geologic conditions that have slowed progress on the $565-million project.
The dispute centers on responsibility for handling the large amounts of highly plastic clay and silt material that were discovered in the corridor’s soils after construction began in 2019. This past October, an arbitrator ruled that the Branch Civil/Flatiron construction joint venture (BFJV) was entitled to an adjustment of its contract with Transurban, which operates the I-95 express lanes for the Virginia Dept. of Transportation. A second arbitration hearing scheduled for Jan. 2022 will resolve the level of cost and schedule relief BFJV will receive. Both sides have agreed to abide by the outcome and not pursue further litigation.