Facing mounting costs and delays with part one of a terminal expansion at Southwest Florida International Airport, the Lee County Port Authority plans a special meeting to decide on its next moves.
At a regular meeting Thursday, the board put off decisions on a series of proposed contract revisions, saying they didn't have all the information and answers they needed to vote on them.
If approved, the contract revisions would more than double the price of the project and extend construction by more than three years.
The original budget came in at $331 million.
A revised estimate has put the cost at nearly $678.4 million. That's $347 million more.
The port authority, governed by Lee County commissioners, manages both Southwest Florida International, known for short as RSW, as well as the Page Field airport. County commissioners double as port commissioners.
At a special meeting, commissioners hope to get the full picture of what's going on with the project. They unanimously agreed there was a "need to step back."
Commissioner Kevin Ruane moved to defer the contract changes and extensions, saying he didn't feel ready to talk about them, and suggested holding the separate meeting.
While eager to hear more from the port authority's staff and especially the outside construction manager, commissioner Brian Hamman seconded Ruane's motion, feeling it might be better to wait until everyone felt comfortable with and ready for a more detailed discussion.
The first phase of RSW's expansion ground to a virtual after Manhattan Construction, the construction manager, "discovered errors in the structural design" in September 2023, according to background information included in Thursday's meeting packet.
As a result, AtkinsRealis, the project's engineer, had to redesign the project. That took more than a year.
Based on the new design, Manhattan has estimated another 43 months will be needed to complete construction, including repairs and reinforcements to what has already been built. As proposed, its contract would be extended to March 31, 2029.
Manhattan negotiated a budget increase of more than $346.79 million with port authority staff, based on a revised scope of the work and timeline.
After Thursday's meeting, Hamman said: "I think certainly the board should get all of its questions answered before we say yes to something like that."
Later in the meeting, through a separate action, the port authority agreed to extend Manhattan's contract, which is set to expire on Jan. 31, for another month, to allow time for the special meeting to occur.
The board's attorney cautioned about having any in-depth discussions before then.
Asked about potential litigation, following the meeting, Hamman said, "it may head in that direction at some point."
In May, AtkinsRealis pledged $3.3 million to the port authority, as a credit, to help make up for the increased costs and delays.
In an email sent to port authority executives in early August, Tony Bonucci, a former project manager and employee for the independent government agency, took credit for catching the "failing steel connections that would have collapsed the building," and accused them of unfairly pointing a finger at him for the mistakes.
He quit over the project, describing it as a "nightmare."
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The port authority has seen other shakeups in its management and leadership over the past year.
In April, former executive director Ben Siegel retired after more than 30 years of service with the authority.
A few months later, Steven Hennigan officially assumed the role of director, with the redesign well underway. Port commissioners did not fault him for the problems.
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Construction on the first phase began in October 2021.
Initial delays were caused in part by material, supply and labor shortages, as well as Hurricane Ian in 2022. Then came the design challenges.
The project involves the remodel of 164,000 square feet of space - and the addition of 117,000 square feet of new walkways and space for concessionaires, including local eateries.
Despite the unexpected challenges and delays with the first phase, a second phase of the airport expansion began in October.
The budget for that project is at more than $1.06 billion, including design, bidding, permitting and construction costs.
It will be Lee County's largest public works project - ever, adding a new Concourse E, with 14 additional gates, with room for more. It will include a chiller plant expansion, airside and road improvements, passenger boarding bridges and concessions.
Construction on the second phase is anticipated to take a little over three years, with a scheduled completion date of Dec. 1, 2027.
That project has a different construction manager, but the same engineer.
"My understanding is it's well underway," Hamman said. "And things are going great."