YORK COUNTY — The Maryland-based contractor in charge of the much-maligned Mount Rose construction project is claiming that the state owes it more than $24 million and a timetable extension to finish the project, documents show.
Cherry Hill Construction filed the claim on Dec. 3, records show.
The company has come under fire for its handling of the project on Interstate 83, which is now in its fourth year and is more than a year past its initial completion deadline. The project’s price tag is approaching $60 million.
Cherry Hill Construction said in its claim that the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has breached its contract constantly since the project began back in 2015. The company claims conditions at the site of the Mount Rose Interchange could not have been anticipated in advance, and that PennDOT did not take the issues seriously.
Among the issues listed by Cherry Hill was the discovery of an unknown water source that flowed into the project area during excavation work, documents show.
PennDOT did not allow Cherry Hill time to properly mitigate the issue, it said in its claim.
Cherry Hill is looking for $24 million in damages and a 598-day extension to complete the project. If the state Board of Claims grants that request, it would stretch into 2022.
The most recent timetable for the completion of the project was in the latter half of 2020.
Cherry Hill has been receiving fines of $14,000 per day since July for missing the deadline to remove the reduced speed zone through the work area. It has been penalized almost $7 million since the state began cracking down.
The company says in its claim that those penalties should be reversed, documents show.
Among the work still needed on the project is the construction of the middle section of Interstate 83, reconstruction of the Mount Rose Avenue eastbound exit and ramp, installation of new traffic signals, structure work, highway lighting, and pavement markings.
