City re-hires contractor, resumes construction of multi-million dollar traffic center

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The city has once again resumed construction of its $54 million Joint Traffic Management Center after putting the project on hold in July.

The project, which has been in the works for about a decade, was paused after officials fired the contractor in charge of the center's construction, citing months of issues and delays.

Prior to being fired, Watts Construction LLC was issued warnings since February for several issues with the facility including leaking water and flooring problems.

The city has since backtracked on that decision, and is allowing Watts to continue working on the project after reaching an agreement with its parent and affiliate companies.

"The JTMC can withstand a high-end Category three hurricane and will house all of our first responders during such storms and other emergencies," said Mayor Kirk Caldwell, in a statement.

"Once the special nature of this building was established, there were good faith negotiations amongst all parties to resume construction of the JTMC and suspend the termination that was placed on Watts back in July," Caldwell said.

Construction of the traffic management center is now expected to be complete in the spring of next year.

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