Busy Pierce County road to be torn up longer than expected after county fires contractor
The Pierce County Planning and Public Works Department announced Wednesday it was canceling its contract with a construction company in a rare move after many reported delays in the Spanaway Loop Road South project.
That means drivers should expect more delays as the county works to find a new contractor to complete infrastructure and sewer improvements.
As of Feb. 15, one lane was reported open in either direction between 116th Street South and Garfield Street South. Lane closures will remain as they are until work is completed, PPW spokesperson Connor Davis told The News Tribune on Tuesday.
Pierce County terminated its contract with Pivetta Brothers Construction because the contractor “failed to meet the terms of its contract, which resulted in unacceptable construction delays and no reasonable path to complete the project,” Davis said. The county is working “swiftly” to find a new contractor that can complete the project “quickly,” he said. Davis did not provide a timeline on when a new contractor would be selected or when work would start again.
Representatives with Pivetta Brothers Construction told The News Tribune on Wednesday they thought the contract was wrongfully terminated.
“Pivetta has a long history of completing work in and for Pierce County. We’re disappointed with Pierce County’s decision to terminate the Parkland/Brookdale contract as we’ve followed all required notice provisions for the undisclosed groundwater conditions and contamination that we encountered,” said general manager Jeremy Fudge and public works division manager Bill Adams in a statement. “Pivetta has been working to obtain necessary permits from the Washington State Department of Ecology to safely treat and dispose of the 21.6 million gallons of groundwater per day needed to construct the project. Pivetta has adhered to the contract and followed all applicable regulations. While there have been delays to the project, these delays were outside of the control of Pivetta and Pierce County has been aware of them for months.”
Davis said construction was supposed to start at the end of July 2024, “but the contractor failed to procure the materials in time for this date,” pushing back the start of construction for two months.
“Work began on September 30 and Spanaway Loop Road South was closed on October 14. When work started last fall, the closure was expected to end on January 21. This was based on the scheduled provided by the contractor, which showed the work in Spanaway Loop being completed in 99 days. This was within the terms of the contract that allowed the closure for 112 days (16 weeks),” Davis said in an email Wednesday. “When contract time expired, the contractor had installed less than 6% of the 3,113 feet of 72-inch sewer pipe called for by the project. The remaining work consists of installing this 72-inch pipe and manholes down Spanaway Loop from 117th Street to Garfield before the road can be restored and opened to traffic. In addition, there will be 72-inch pipe and manholes to install in Garfield to the Ainsworth intersection, but that will not impact traffic on Spanaway Loop.”
As previously reported by The News Tribune, the Parkland/Brookdale Interceptor Phase 4 project is budgeted for $18.9 million. It is funded by Sewer Utility Construction Funds, which are composed of sewer-connection charges and monthly sewer service charges, Jenny Burger, a public information specialist with the Pierce County Planning and Public Works department, previously told The News Tribune.
Davis said Tuesday Pivetta Brothers Construction had been paid more than $4.6 million for its work to date. He said the budget for the Parkland/Brookdale Interceptor Phase 4 project probably would increase, but he couldn’t provide specifics by how much. Davis said the department would have more information once a new contractor is selected.
Pivetta Brothers Construction, which is based in Sumner, was chosen to do the work because “state code requires us to award it to a responsible bidder with the lowest responsive bid,” said Davis. “That is ultimately how Pivetta was selected.”
Terminating a contract in Pierce County “is very rare and not something that the Sewer Division has done in recent memory,” Davis said via email. “This was only done as a last resort due to the contractor’s failure to perform.”
Davis said the county had no further comment on Pivetta Brothers Constructions’ allegations that the contract had been wrongfully terminated.
This story was originally published March 19, 2025 at 12:20 PM.
