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DIA Terminal Renovation At Least 18 Months Behind Schedule

DENVER (CBS4) - The massive renovation of Denver International Airport's terminal will now be at least 18 months behind schedule -- and possibly longer -- according to newly released construction documents obtained by CBS4.

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(CBS)

The "Great Hall Project," as it is known, was originally supposed to take three and a half years to complete and be finished in 2021. That's now been pushed back to 2023 according to the newly obtained report.

In February, CBS4 reported a delay of an extra ten months due to concerns about the strength of DIA's concrete. But now, in a construction update released April 14, Great Hall Partners say the construction delay has nearly doubled from 300 days,  ballooning to 551 calendar days which equates to just over 18 months. And it could grow even more. The report warns "Additional potential schedule impacts are possible."

The growing delay is blamed on "Unknown Structural Conditions." Those conditions relate to the strength of 25 year old concrete in DIA's terminal.

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(credit: Great Hall Partners)

Initial testing during the construction process suggested strength problems, which slowed the building process. Concrete testing is ongoing and more test results are due this month.

Great Hall Partners wrote that the additional time delay "stems from estimated changes in the methodology and potential timing related impacts" connected to the concrete issues.

GHP says it has made "significant progress" in the concrete testing and analysis of the results. The report indicates construction has come to a halt in areas of the terminal where concrete concerns have not been resolved. "Contractor is still progressing with construction work in areas of the Project not affected by" the concrete concerns.

The report also suggests the delays could equate to additional costs as it alludes to discussions between the City of Denver and the contractor about 'compensation events' related to the concrete concerns.

The massive makeover of the terminal involves moving TSA checkpoints, adding new restaurants and shopping.

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(CBS)
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