The two contractors – Shimmick Construction Company and Danny’s Construction Company – argued in court documents Monday that the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District wants to pay them less than half of the nearly $400 million it says it will spend to complete the project by next year.
The Marin Independent Journal reports the two contractors formed a joint venture to build the suicide prevention nets under the 1.7 mile bridge. But the project is already four years behind schedule and cost overruns have mounted. Upgrades are expected to be completed by 2026.
The contractors claim that the added costs are due to changes and flaws in the government’s net design, as well as a lack of transparency about the extensive deterioration of areas of the bridge.
A spokesperson for the District said, in a statement, that the contractors are responsible for the delays and the overruns, saying that one of the firms, Shimmick Construction, had changed ownership three times since work began in 2018.
The Bridge Rail Foundation – created to prevent suicides from the Golden Gate – says about 1,800 people had committed suicide by jumping from the bridge since it was completed in 1937.
Paul Muller, president of the foundation, told the Independent Journal there were 25 suicides at the Golden Gate last year. So far, there have been two or three-a-month.
