Los Angeles city officials are recommending that the Airport Commission on Monday award a $253-million construction contract to Tutor-Saliba Corp., despite a city investigation that found the firm has received mixed reviews on several recent projects.
The Sylmar-based company submitted the lowest bid to rebuild the southern runway complex at Los Angeles International Airport, a project that city and federal officials say is critical to reducing the number of close calls between aircraft.
After Tutor-Saliba bid last summer, the airport staff initiated a routine review of its record, contacting 15 agencies that had hired the firm.
Several, including UCLA and the Los Angeles Unified School District, reported problems on current projects, including delays caused by understaffing and concerns about the quality of work. Others, such as the Port of Los Angeles and the city Department of Public Works, cited a positive experience.
Tutor-Saliba's work in Los Angeles has transformed the city with projects that include the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX, the Red Line subway and renovations of the Central Library and the Coliseum.
But Tutor-Saliba has drawn attention for some high-profile lapses, including the construction of concrete subway tunnel walls in downtown Los Angeles that were too thin. The company, which was ordered to make repairs, is still waging a court fight over bills it contends are unpaid but that transit officials call fraudulent.
The city's airport agency already has a turbulent relationship with the firm.
"Tutor has had issues with a very recent project of ours, so it's a troubled situation," said Lydia Kennard, the executive director.
In summer 2004, airport officials took the rare legal step of threatening to remove the company from a $34-million Van Nuys park-and-ride expansion project, saying Tutor-Saliba had failed to fix construction defects. The project, which includes a five-story garage, opened late last year -- several months behind schedule.
Airport staff said they obtained contradictory information about Tutor-Saliba's performance on a UCLA hospital and a new high school in Arleta that left them unable to determine who was at fault for problems.
Ronald Tutor, the company's president, said delays at the hospital and the school were largely the result of major changes in the plans made by project managers. He blamed the work-quality issues on subcontractors.
