Contractor receives nearly US$100 million in settlement over Golden Gate Bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge in San Fransisco, California, US. (Image: Adobe Stock)

The lawsuit stemmed from the iconic Bay Area bridge’s Golden Gate Bridge Physical Suicide Deterrent and Wind Retrofit scheme, which Shimmick (along with joint-venture partner Danny’s Construction) signed on to lead in 2017 for $142 million.

The programme includes installing a new barrier of marine-grade steel netting along the nearly 2 mile (3.2km) long span made, which is placed 20-ft below and 20-ft out from either side of the bridge. The project also called for the updates and renovations to the underbridge maintenance access points.

The Shimmick JV entered into litigation with the San Francisco-area bridge authority in 2021, claiming aspects of the suspension bridge’s deteriorating condition were concealed from bidding companies. According to Shimmick, once work started on the project the hidden defects were revealed and said to have caused overruns on time and cost.

A recent estimation for the project cost was listed at $224 million, although Shimmick has contested the total cost is nearly $400 million.

Shimmick is expected to reach substantial completion of its onsite portions of the project in 2025 with remaining work related to a subcontractor’s offsite equipment fabrication activities.

Crisis assistance signs on the Golden Gate Bridge. An ongoing construction project is erecting safeguards to prevent people from jumping from the structure. (Image: Adobe Stock)

Steve Richards, CEO of Shimmick, said, “Our work on this project included the installation of a suicide deterrent net system, an important outcome to benefit Californians.

“We take immense pride in the outstanding work our team has done on this challenging and vital project and look forward to utilising these talented team members on other Shimmick projects in the near future.”