Georgetown gives Austin Avenue bridges builder default notice
The dispute continues between the City of Georgetown and Cekra, the contractor for the now-delayed Austin Avenue vehicular bridges rehabilitation project.
Georgetown officials last week announced that “a notice of default was sent to contractor Cekra, Inc.” Default notices are typically formal warning letters for breach of contract or payment disputes that precede possible legal actions if a resolution is not reached.
Construction on the Austin Avenue Bridges Project began on October 14, 2024, after nearly a decade of planning. The original estimated completion date for the project was April 15, 2026, but work on the bridges has been stalled for about the last three months.
“The city discovered ponding on the bridge due to contractor work not performed in line with the engineer's plans for the bridge rehabilitation,” the city states in its newsletter last Thursday. “Due to the issues this could create, the engineer of record for the project has outlined the corrective actions needed in order to move forward. The contractor was given time to review and complete their own analysis.”
Cekra, Inc has not offered a “satisfactory fix” in a timely manner, according to the city. Along with the notice of default, the city had “demanded repair of defective work” on the bridges.
Mayor Josh Schroeder said in March that city council authorized Georgetown’s attorney to take action against the contractor for the delays.
The engineer for the project — which is rehabilitating the two historic 1940s-era bridges – is Texas-based firm Aguirre & Fields. North Carolina-based Cekra Inc received a $9.6 million construction contract in 2024. Funding was approved in the city’s 2021 mobility bond.
Once a resolution is reached, the city said it would provide more details on a timeline for the remainder of the project. No additional details are available at this time, although the most recent update had project completion pushed back to August. Projected expenditures have increased from $11,380,760 to $12,780,760.