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

type='html'>The primary contractor on the unfinished Peachtree Boulevard Phase 2 project, InfraSource, is getting out of the road work business and is “liquidating damages,” according to a report made to the board of Neighborhood Planning Unit-B Tuesday night.

CID's Tony Peters

Tony Peters, business development manager for the Buckhead Community Improvement District (CID) and its companion organizations BATMA and Livable Buckhead, told the NPU board that InfraSource is “31 days past deadline” at this point on the Peachtree Boulevard project. 

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

Peachtree Boulevard Phase 2, like the earlier Phase 1, are projects sponsored by and partially funded through the CID. There also are plans for a remaining Peachtree Boulevard Phase 3, which would stretch from Maple Drive to Pharr Road along Peachtree. 

On Wednesday morning, CID Executive Director Jim Durrett responded to a request for additional information about InfraSource stating by email, “The company is getting out of road infrastructure business….Not quitting our project. They have a couple of other projects they are 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 have no issue with them and there are no consequences in Buckhead.”

Asked if there likely would be fines associated with the company being 31 days past deadline, Durrett replied, “Probably so, but that is related to liquidated 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 InfraSource after hearing a rumor that the company was in trouble and possibly going out of business. Durrett said at the time he did not know anything about such a problem with the company.

Peters was asked by a NPU-B board member when the Peachtree Boulevard Phase 2 project will be finished. He replied, “I have no idea….No one has any exact time when it all will be completed.”

However, he was quick to point out that there has been a “tremendous amount of activity going on recently” in terms of the road work, sidewalks, curbing and building the median. 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 be fully 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 its monthly meeting last week also decided to hold an event prior to Thanksgiving  celebrating the Peachtree Boulevard Phase 2 project. However, it was pointed out there would remain a “punch list of items” that would still remain to be finished after that.  

Peters said that InfraSource, a Quanta Services Company, also has two other projects in the metro Atlanta area. But he said InfraSource is not involved with the GDOT work on the ramps at the GA 400 interchange with I-85.

Quanta Services Company is a 60-year-old company.  InfraSource is headquartered 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 his report to the NPU board, Peters said the Operation Shield camera surveillance program in the CID district of Buckhead now has 11 cameras feeding images through the web network to the Atlanta Police Department’s Zone 2 precinct on Maple Drive. From there those images are sent to the APD’s monitoring station in downtown Atlanta.

Peters said that means the majority of the 18 cameras funded by the CID for $149,000 now are operational. Four of the remaining camera installations by Iron Sky are awaiting completion of the Peachtree Road Phase 2 road work and three will be installed when the MARTA bridge over GA 400 at Tower Place is completed and operational.

Peters also announced that Livable Buckhead will be reaching out by the end of October to all people and neighborhood associations along the proposed GA 400 Trail in Buckhead and releasing the final trail design through a series of meetings.