A Dallas County jury on Monday awarded the North Texas Tollway Authority $280 million while finding Prairie Link Constructors breached a contract for work on the President George Bush Turnpike.
NTTA commissioned Prairie Link Constructors, a joint venture of construction companies Fluor Enterprises and Balfour Beatty Infrastructure, in 2009 to design and build six and a half miles of roads, bridges and retaining walls.
The $425 million agreement included 96 retaining walls built to last 100 years, Michael Kaeske of Kaeske Law Firm, representing NTTA, told jurors during opening statements Nov. 13.
In September 2020, a section of one of the walls moved several feet overnight and needed to be rebuilt immediately, Kaeske said.
An investigation revealed 69 walls were defective and three more needed to be fixed right away, Kaeske said. NTTA filed its lawsuit in 2022.
Gregory S. Martin of Martin Hild, representing Prairie Link, conceded in opening statements that joint separations were spotted between the road and access pad or guardrails. But, Martin said, that was because NTTA had landscaping and irrigation done in the area after Prairie Link completed its work and water infiltrated places it shouldn’t have.
Prairie Link Constructors has also said the walls were designed by other entities —Professional Service Industries and AECOM Technical Services — and filed suit against them. That case has yet to go to trial.
The trial lasted 10 days in 160th District Judge Aiesha Redmond’s court. Lawyers for each side did not respond to The Texas Lawbook’s requests for comment.
NTTA was also represented by Lisa Blue of Baron and Blue and Jonathan Nockels of Malouf & Nockels.
Prairie Link Constructors was also represented by Rhyddid Watkins of Martin Hild and Jeffrey Tillotson of Tillotson Johnson Patton.
The case number is DC-22-13917.