(The Virginian-Pilot published the following story by Debbie Messina on its website on October 22.)
NORFOLK — A second construction company has sued Old Dominion University and American Maglev Technology Inc. for nonpayment for work on a stalled magnetic-levitation train demonstration project.
S.B. Ballard Construction of Virginia Beach alleges it has not been paid for $630,940 worth of concrete and construction work on three incomplete train stations on the campus.
Ballard stopped work on the stations “because of the lack of payment,” said attorney James R. Harvey III, who represents Ballard.
The lawsuit also names Aviation Constructors Inc. of Atlanta, which is managing the station construction.
In addition, Ballard contends that American Maglev did not obtain a payment bond, which is required by the Virginia Public Procurement Act to safeguard contractors working on public projects.
Ballard further alleges that ODU did not enforce the payment bond requirement on American Maglev.
Harvey said that company officials have nothing against ODU. “Their main interest is in getting paid.”
Ballard built ODU’s showcase projects, the Ted Constant Convocation Center, which opened last year on time and without controversy, and the adjacent University Village housing, which opened this summer.
The action filed Monday is the second lawsuit in the project in less than two weeks. Waterfront Marine Construction Inc., also represented by Harvey, is seeking $65,640 for driving piles for the stations.
At this time last year, ODU had hoped to move students across campus on the nation’s first magnetic-levitation train.
But the project came to a halt nearly a year ago when technical glitches surfaced and the money — $14 million in public and private funds — ran out before the problems could be fixed.
ODU has been awarded $2 million in federal money to finish the project, but federal officials said they can’t use any of it to pay off debt.
“We’re not about to help them pay their debts,” said John T. Harding, who is overseeing the maglev project for the Federal Railroad Administration. “We’re also not paying to complete the stations. We’re paying for getting the vehicle operating on a track.”
ODU is still working to complete contracts before releasing the federal money to American Maglev and its subcontractors.
“We certainly are concerned about the situation,” said Robert L. Fenning, ODU?s vice president for administration and finance. “We really hope S.B. Ballard and” American Maglev “can work something out on this.”
American Maglev and Aviation Constructors could not be reached for comment Tuesday.