The US Maritime Administration is asking a federal court to
dismiss a lawsuit against it regarding MARAD’s alleged mishandling of a project
to expand the Port of Anchorage, Alaska.
The lawsuit was filed the city of Anchorage in February. In
it, the city seeks monetary relief as a result of what it calls MARAD's breach
of its contract regarding the expansion.
The port expansion project, which has been in the works for
more than a decade, was overseen by MARAD until the US Army Corps of Engineers
took control in May 2012. The expansion was originally estimated to cost $360
million and was supposed to be complete by 2011. Instead, cost estimates have
jumped to about $1 billion and climbing, and completion isn’t expected for
another decade.
According to a $2.2 million sustainability study that was
conducted by engineering firm CH2M Hill on behalf of MARAD and the Army Corps
of Engineers, three of four new sections built at the Port of Anchorage were
not constructed correctly and due to shifting land, could fail during an
earthquake.
The city claims MARAD didn’t live up to the contracts
because it failed to deliver on its promise of providing “expertise to design,
construct and oversee the design and construction of the project.”
In a dismissal motion filed June 27 with US Court of Federal
Claims Judge Edward Damich however, MARAD contends that contracts it worked
under on the Port of Anchorage construction project were cooperative agreements
and don’t hold it liable for money lost on the project.
The city has also filed suit against project management,
dock design and consultant companies previously involved with the expansion.
That case, which was filed in March 2013, is ongoing in US District Court.
