A €6.4 million dispute between an engineering company and Dublin City Council over work on the James Joyce Bridge in Dublin has come before the Commercial Court.
Carillion Irishenco is claiming €6.4 million for additional costs which it claims to have incurred in steelwork fabrication carried out on the bridge near Blackhall Place.
The claim was rejected by the council and went to arbitration. The arbitrator decided on July 31st, 2007, that Carillion was not entitled to extra costs.
The James Joyce Bridge was designed by Santiago Calatrava Valls. Engineering firm Roughan O'Donovan was appointed consulting engineers, and Carillion Irishenco in March 2001 entered into a contract with the council to construct the bridge, the court was told in documents presented yesterday to Mr Justice Peter Kelly.
Carillion subcontracted the steelwork fabrication and erection to Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries Ltd. Carillion claims that, during the network fabrication work, Harland and Wolff experienced "significant difficulties" in effecting welds to a cruciform joint and refused to proceed until it received an instruction from the engineer amending the design.
An alternative design was agreed, and instructions were issued by the engineer for Carillion Irishenco to proceed. Carillion's claim is for the "significant additional costs" incurred in connection with the extra steel fabrication work.