A construction company that formerly worked for Coralville has sued the city , alleging that the city breached contract by withholding payment.

Tricon General Construction Inc. was contracted by the city in 2010 to complete the First Avenue Corridor Flood Recovery and Protection project. Tricon alleges that the city owes it $201,512.50 plus interests and court costs, according to court documents.

Tricon believes the project was “substantially completed by April 29, 2011.” The city of Coralville notified Tricon on June 27 that it intended to withhold payment of $195,500 because of alleged delays in Tricon’s work. Tricon does not agree that it is liable for delay damages of $500 a day from April 29-July 13, 2011, and believes the city is not entitled to the money.

Tricon further asserts that the city caused delays to the project by “failing to secure ‘The Brown residence site’ in a timely fashion and delaying the completion of fiber-optic connections” that Tricon needed for its work. Tricon officials believe that these delays required them to spend an extra $26,000 for a project manager on the site and another $14,512.50 for a project superintendent.

According to the city of Coralville’s website, the project was “intended to construct flood berms and three stormwater pump stations to provide flood protection to the First Avenue corridor.”

— by Brent Griffiths