Santa Clara County Locks Out Hospital Contractor Over Poor Performance
SAN JOSE (KPIX 5) – Construction was halted Friday at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, as county officials look to fire the contractor in charge of the hospital's expansion.
The county executive told KPIX 5 that they plan to officially fire Turner Construction on Tuesday. County officials were at the site on Friday, changing locks and posting notices that the project is on hold.
County officials said the construction company is behind delays that pushed the project back. Officials also point to a major steam explosion that injured a worker. No one was killed in the blast.
The county said it is costing $36 million a year in lost revenue by not being open.
"What it says here is that at least one client has been extremely unsatisfied. We have given them many opportunities to cure the defects to solve the problems. They have not," said county executive Jeffrey Smith.
On Friday afternoon, Turner Construction gave a kind of tongue-in-cheek response to the county's action, saying this is the quickest decision the county has made on this project. They also sent out a statement saying that this is another example of bad county management and that this is going to cost the taxpayers.
The county said it has identified at least two other construction companies that could step in to complete the project.