Construction group files lawsuit against Berkeley County, engineering firm over Red Bank Road delays

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – Berkeley County and the engineer responsible for construction on Red Bank Road have been named in a lawsuit over construction delays.

News 2 has reported on construction delays along the busy Goose Creek road and how it has impacted business owners and residents who travel the road.

Portland Utilities Construction Company, which was hired to upgrade the sewer lines along a portion of Red Bank Road, filed a lawsuit Thursday claiming that the county and its engineering firm, Michael Baker International Inc., are responsible for delays and cost increases.

In the lawsuit, Portland says there was a five-month delay in March of 2022, just as the project began. The company says Berkeley County gave them a notice to proceed, even though the South Carolina Department of Transportation permit to close two lanes of the road was not in hand.

That meant Portland could not really begin work until August.

Portland alleges they were also misled by the county and the engineer about the site conditions.

They added that there were numerous undisclosed underground obstacles, including things like concrete, sewer connections, telephone, and gas utility lines that were not as stated. These led to delays and extra construction costs, too.

The lawsuit says Berkeley County also left Red Bank Road unfinished for nine months even after the sewer work was completed. Portland says substantial completion was done to the sewer work in June of 2024. They asked Berkeley County for a road restoration plan in May, but the county did not provide those plans until it hired a different contractor on November 25, 2024.

“As a family-operated business, we understand the hardships this project has created for local residents and small businesses on Red Bank Road. We were similarly frustrated by the inaction and lack of communication over the course of the project from Berkeley County and its engineer Michael Baker International, and our lawsuit details how their inaccurate plans, lack of urgency, and negligence created significant delays. This litigation was a last resort to recover the costs incurred by Portland in a good faith effort to complete this critical project for Berkeley County.” -Portland Utilities Construction Company Statement

News 2 reached out to Berkeley County for a response, they told us, “Berkeley County does not comment on pending litigation.”

Portland officials said this is the first time they have had to file a lawsuit against a client. While the work was initially an $8.3 million job, the lawsuit seeks more than $10 million.

The company says they’ve had millions of dollars in cost overruns, and they had to pay their contractors and workers even though the county has refused to pay even undisputed money that was required in the contract.