Contractor walks away from NCDOT project over payment dispute

Updated Mar 8, 2016

North Carolina state line welcome signThe North Carolina Department of Transportation is in search of a new contractor to finish up a nearly three-year-old project in Charlotte.

According to Fox 46 in Charlotte, DeVere Construction told NCDOT that they would no longer perform work on the $100 million Independence Avenue widening project. The company claims NCDOT owes them money for the project.

The Triangle Business Journal reported that DeVere president Richard Crittenden said DeVere initially stopped work “pending resolution of sizable claims” he says his company has already completed. But the company later gave notice that it wouldn’t continue working on the NCDOT project.

“We are a second generation, family owned construction company and are proud of our work,” Crittenden said. “The decision to demobilize was not easy one, but there is a limit to our patience. The NCDOT claim process is broken. I fully anticipate DeVere Construction will prevail and recover the monies properly due and owing by the NCDOT.”

NCDOT disputed the claims and said that it expects the contractors it works with to do the work under the agreed upon schedule. The department even barred DeVere from bidding on any more NCDOT projects until the work the company has already been contracted for is done.

“Our focus is on completion of all projects in a timely, satisfactory manner and reducing the impact to the traveling public. We hold a contractor like DeVere Construction responsible for helping us achieve that goal by doing the required work under the schedule specified in its contract with the department,” NCDOT said in a statement. “And there can be financial consequences if the company fails to meet its contracted obligations. In 2014, DeVere Construction was barred from bidding on any future NCDOT projects in an effort to allow the company to focus on and complete its current projects.”

But the department still has to find a new contractor. It’s working with a bonding company on a short-term plan to find a new contractor that can start doing safety and erosion work.