When Fluor Intercontinental, a unit of the big engineering and construction services company, won a $74.4-million contract in early 2005 to build a new U.S. embassy compound in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, it ran into trouble with soil conditions that differed from what the firm believed would be present.

Another Australian company has run into a rough patch. Sydney-based WorleyParsons has taken a beating from the downturn in the global oil business and a sluggish metals and minerals markets, declaring a nearly $55-million loss for its latest business year.

Image taken from website of Texas contractor whose projects are being completed by sureties. A Texas general contractor appears to have defaulted on numerous projects, with bonding companies and local officials taking control of water plant expansions and school renovation projects across a swath of the Lone Star State.The Guarantee Company of North America USA recently took over an $8.3-million water plant project in the Texas town of San Juan from Texas Descon and now plans to bid the work out again.The bonding company, in a complaint in federal court, argued that Texas Descon took in more than half a

Federal Highway Administration Long-term bridge performance is one of many areas of interest at the Federal Highway Administration Saxton Transportation Operations Laboratory in McLean, Va. A contract that will be awarded by the laboratory was the subject of a dispute between Leidos and some of its former employees. After accusing them of stealing trade secrets, Leidos Inc. has settled a lawsuit against a group of former employees it claimed had bolted to start their own firm and snatch away a lucrative federal highway contract.Lawyers for  the big, Reston, Va.-based government contractor and ITS Roads, the new firm formed by the

Data from Arcadis shows the evolving picture of international conflicts. Related Links: Arcadis Global Disputes Report Construction disputes globally are dragging on longer and costing more than ever before, with Asia and the Middle East leading the way, a new report finds.The average value of a construction dispute worldwide hit $51 million in 2014, up from just under $40 million the year before, while it took on average 13.2 months to resolve, according to a new report by global design and consulting firm Arcadis.The cause most commonly cited is the “failure to properly administer the contract,” notes the firm’s “Global

Photo by AP Wideworld Union construction workers in Indianapolis rally in favor of prevailing rates in Indiana. Related Links: Wall Steet Journal prevailing wage editorial Republicans Put Repeal of Prevailing Wages on Front Burner On July 1, state prevailing wages in Indiana pass into history, following repeal by state lawmakers in April. Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois are the next states where repeal is possible, provided the political chips fall into place.How much of a catalyst Indiana will be for repeal elsewhere remains unclear. The state's open-shop contractors are looking forward to bidding on projects they believe they had no chance

Federal court filing. The Leaburg Dam on the McKenzie River in Oregon channels water to power electrical turbines based on constant river levels. MWH Americas Inc. and a local contractor are battling a $5-million lawsuit connected to 100-ton gates on an Oregon dam that suddenly came crashing down.The failure of two of the three 102-foot long roll gates at the Leaburg Dam on the McKenzie River was triggered by a “systemic design error” involving hydraulic hoists engineered by MWH and installed by Portland-based Advanced American Construction, claims the Eugene Water and Electric Board. It filed the lawsuit in federal circuit

Related Links: Edmonton Bridge Contractors Straighten Buckled Girders Story and Slide Show: Girders Give Edmonton Bridge Team Big Headache Steel girder sections that deflected during construction of an Edmonton, Alberta, bridge are being shipped back to the project's locally based fabricator and erector, Supreme Steel.A structural engineering team will then decide whether the girder sections on the bridge at 102 Avenue over Groat Road must be repaired or replaced entirely, city transportation officials said in a press statement.Sections of four girders suddenly underwent torsional lateral buckling, three by several feet, in the early morning hours of March 16, after they