Construction Resumes On Aurora VA Medical Center
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - The contractor building the new VA medical center in Aurora resumed construction on Monday, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs said in a statement.
Crews with Kiewit-Turner halted work on the project earlier this month after a federal appeals board rules that the VA had breached its contract. The construction company argued that the VA didn't produce a design for the medical center that could be built with the $604 million bid price. It would cost more than $1 billion, Kiewit-Turner said.
But both parties hammered out an agreement last week that would restart construction.
Leaders from the VA and Kiewit-Turner agreed to key principals on Wednesday, including:
- The VA will pay Kiewit-Turner $157 million for past costs.
- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will take an advisory and assessment role during this interim period.
- The delivery model will be based on Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) cost reimbursable principles.
"I am delighted that we are back to work constructing a state-of-the-art health care facility that Colorado Veterans have earned and deserve," VA Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson said in a joint statement. "We will continue to work with Kiewit-Turner and the Army Corps of Engineers to secure a long-term solution to ensure that this project continues moving forward."
Kiewit-Turner said workers returned Monday morning.
"Kiewit-Turner will continue to ramp-up construction activities as we bring more subcontractors and workers back to the project. We appreciate the continued dialog and collaboration with Deputy Secretary Gibson and the Corps of Engineers, as we all work together on this important project for Colorado-area Veterans," Scott Cassels, executive vice president for Kiewit, said in the same statement.
