Road paver, Arkansas state agency dispute price for '14 work

A Russellville contractor sought to reclaim nearly $189,000 Friday from the state Highway and Transportation Department for extra work the company says it did on an interstate highway project.

However, a Highway Department lawyer told the state Claims Commission that the contractor had been paid and was merely seeking to get funds that were never agreed upon.

The three-member Claims Commission took the case under advisement and did not issue a decision Friday. If a claim is awarded against the state agency, it still must be approved by the Arkansas Legislature.

Blackstone Construction LLC, based in Russellville, was hired to repave and stripe a 13-mile stretch of Interstate 40 between London and Lamar in 2014.

After being awarded the $8.6 million contract, which the company said would take 55 days to complete, the state asked that Blackstone also pave the exit ramps and crossovers along the stretch of highway.

The extra work request was similar to what the state asked Blackstone to do during an earlier project farther down the highway, according to testimony given to the Claims Commission.

Blackstone's general manager, Paul Mlakar Jr., testified how doing work on the narrow exit ramps is a slower, more tedious task than construction on the main stretch of road.

The whole process led to 12 more days of work, only one of which was paid for by the state, Mlakar said.

Mlakar said that after the earlier project, the state had simply settled up by paying for the added days spent working on the ramps.

Instead of revising his contract with the Highway Department to reflect the tougher job of repaving the ramps, Mlakar said he received verbal assurance from the state that Blackstone would be paid in the same manner it was for the earlier project.

Mlakar said the state paid for the added materials costs related to the work done on the exit ramps, but not for the number of days it added to the project.

Highway Department lawyer David Dawson said Blackstone was misrepresenting its agreement with the state to the Claims Commission.

He challenged the company's assertion that the added days were due to the exit ramp work, which was done simultaneously with the rest of the project.

The only way Blackstone could have a claim against the state, Dawson argued, would be if the company received damages by being charged for going over its deadline, which did not happen.

But Mlakar said that if the company is not paid for the additional work done, it will lose money on the project. In addition to work costs, Blackstone is seeking attorneys' fees.

Metro on 07/15/2017

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