Oregon settles with contractor on landslide plagued Highway 20 project

Pier columns on a bridge displaced by landslides are demolished

Pier columns on a bridge displaced by landslides are demolished

The Oregon DOT stopped work on a 10-mile stretch of Highway 20 back in 2010 after several landslides were discovered during construction. Four bridges that were constructed by Yaquina River Constructors, a subsidiary of Granite Construction, were displaced by the landslides. The contractor was paid a total of $173 million for the project, and under the terms of the settlement, $15 million was returned to the State. According to an ODOT spokesman, they are looking to rebid the project this year with a projected completion date of 2015, 6 years behind the original schedule. The winning bid for the original project was $129 million, and the new projected cost is $290 to $310 million. [Source: TDN.com. Image: NewsLincolnCounty.com]