Failing to Construct Utah Valley’s Timpanogos Highway

The Timpanogos Highway (or SR-92) was scheduled to be finished months ago. The project was meant

to bring a faster, more navigable highway for commuters trying to reach the Highland, Alpine area

without having to travel through Pleasant Grove.

The project was scheduled to be completed in May of 2011. It is now well over a year since then and

there are still signs of construction on the road.

What this Means for the Company Every day since the deadline costs the company extra money. The Utah construction company working

on the highway is required to pay fifteen thousand dollars per day that the project isn’t complete.

It’s a part of the contract, a part that has become all too common

amongst construction companies as of late. Construction contracts

regularly come complete with a fail-safe clause.

Companies that cannot finish their contract in the time agreed upon

are required to pay a penalty price every day until the project is

complete. The clause is effective too.

Most companies don’t want to lose that kind of money on a project that could potentially take months

more to complete. Every month that goes by costs them hundreds of thousands of dollars in extra cash.

Let three months pass by and they have to pay well over a million dollars back to their employer. The

price is predetermined by the employer.

How the Bidding Process Works This person, company or entity is entitled to choose the terms of the contract and then offer it to the

masses. Auctions are normally held to allow multiple Utah construction companies together to bid for

the contract.

This bidding process is unique to all others. Unlike most auctions, the

lowest bidder often gets the contract.

Employers want the most work for the smallest fare. It makes good

business sense, but it often results in Utah construction companies

undervaluing their work and chasing impossible deadlines.

The deadline of a project is largely influenced by the needs of the

employer. They pick a time in the future that they think this project should be finished.

After consulting with experts, they often set a date that is do-able, if only minor setbacks were to occur.

In a perfect world, they could complete it in that time.

Unfortunately, this isn’t a perfect world. Unexpected problems happen all the time and companies find

themselves weeks to months behind schedule.

Unprecedented Difficulties The Utah Department of Transportation (UDoT) reported “unprecedented” difficulties in December of

last year. Things like cracks in concrete and gaps beneath the road plagued the construction, pushing

their already extended completion date further still.

They would build and build until they could finally see the light of a finish

line, only to have their floors cave in as it were, and fall deeper than they

were before.

Because of all the setbacks and the terms of the contract, not only have

the citizens suffered, but so has UDoT. They lose money daily and there’s

nothing they can do about it.

They agreed to the terms of the contract and have to abide by it. In a

world where the employer’s needs are what determine whether or not you work, many Utah

Construction Companies like UDoT find themselves accepting agreements they know they’ll never be

able to accomplish on time.

They need the work and are willing to take it. They can only hope that things won’t go horribly wrong.