Peachtree Boulevard major contractor ceasing road work business; but project completion not affected

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The primary contractoron the unfinished Peachtree Boulevard Phase 2 project, InfraSource, is gettingout of the road work business and is “liquidating damages,” according to areport made to the board of Neighborhood Planning Unit-B Tuesday night.

CID's Tony Peters

Tony Peters, businessdevelopment manager for the Buckhead Community Improvement District (CID) andits companion organizations BATMA and Livable Buckhead, told the NPU board thatInfraSource is “31 days past deadline” at this point on the Peachtree Boulevardproject. 

Wikipedia defines "liquidated damages" as "damages ... for the injured party to collect as compensation upon a specific breach (e.g., late performance)."

Peachtree BoulevardPhase 2, like the earlier Phase 1, are projects sponsored by and partiallyfunded through the CID. There also are plans for a remaining PeachtreeBoulevard Phase 3, which would stretch from Maple Drive toPharr Road along Peachtree. 
On Wednesday morning,CID Executive Director Jim Durrett responded to a request for additionalinformation about InfraSource stating by email, “The company is getting out of road infrastructurebusiness….Not quitting our project. They have a couple of other projects theyare working on in the city, not in the district.”

CID Executive Director Jim Durrett

Durrett also added, “Liquidated damages is between them and GDOT(Georgia Department of Transportation who is overseeing the project). We haveno issue with them and there are no consequences in Buckhead.”
Asked if there likely would be fines associated with the company being31 days past deadline, Durrett replied, “Probably so, but that is related toliquidated damages and between them and GDOT.”

Durrett's comments were confirmed Wednesday morning by Brian McHugh, the CID's project manager on the Peachtree Boulevard project. "Jim is correct that GDOT LDs (liquidated damages) have been in effect since September 1st and InfraSource is staying in the infrastructure business. It's a rumor that they are getting out of the 'streetscape' business. I've never heard this discussed by anyone with the company," he added. 

CID's Brian McHugh

BuckheadView had asked Durrett last week about the status of InfraSourceafter hearing a rumor that the company was in trouble and possibly going out ofbusiness. Durrett said at the time he did not know anything about such aproblem with the company.
Peters was asked by aNPU-B board member when the Peachtree Boulevard Phase 2 project will befinished. He replied, “I have no idea….No one has any exact time when it allwill be completed.”
However, he was quick topoint out that there has been a “tremendous amount of activity going onrecently” in terms of the road work, sidewalks, curbing and building themedian. Peters said the sidewalk has been poured in front of the Ritz-Carlton,the last segment of the median is being built and the traffic signals will befully operational by Oct. 31.

Construction work on the Peachtree Boulevard Phase 2 road project is
31 days behind schedule, but there is a flurry of activity right now. 

The CID board at itsmonthly meeting last week also decided to hold an event prior toThanksgiving  celebrating the PeachtreeBoulevard Phase 2 project. However, it was pointed out there would remain a “punchlist of items” that would still remain to be finished after that.  
Peters said thatInfraSource, a Quanta Services Company, also has two other projects in themetro Atlanta area. But he said InfraSource is not involved with the GDOT workon the ramps at the GA 400 interchange with I-85.
Quanta Services Company isa 60-year-old company.  InfraSource isheadquartered in Glen Ellyn, Illinois.

Buckhead CID Executive Director Jim Durrett, right, explains an issue
during a recent meeting as CID board chairman David Allman listens.

In another part of hisreport to the NPU board, Peters said the Operation Shield camera surveillanceprogram in the CID district of Buckhead now has 11 cameras feeding imagesthrough the web network to the Atlanta Police Department’s Zone 2 precinct onMaple Drive. From there those images are sent to the APD’s monitoring stationin downtown Atlanta.
Peters said that meansthe majority of the 18 cameras funded by the CID for $149,000 now areoperational. Four of the remaining camera installations by Iron Sky areawaiting completion of the Peachtree Road Phase 2 road work and three will beinstalled when the MARTA bridge over GA 400 at Tower Place is completed andoperational.
Peters also announcedthat Livable Buckhead will be reaching out by the end of October to all peopleand neighborhood associations along the proposed GA 400 Trail in Buckhead andreleasing the final trail design through a series of meetings.