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Exclusive: Documents show contentious relationship between CATS and Blue Line contractor

By Paul Boyd
By Paul Boyd

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The first day of classes did not go as planned for hundreds of students at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte on Tuesday because of the Lynx Blue Line Extension construction delay.

[Emails shed light on Blue Line extension project delay]

Tim Radley is a junior studying education at UNCC and said he was extremely disappointed the project didn't open on time.

He said he was counting on the new rail service this semester to get to school from south Charlotte.

"It needs to get up and running as quickly as possible," Radley said.

What’s most frustrating to Radley and other students is the need to pay for gas and parking for another semester or two.

Several construction crews were working Tuesday as the campus filled up with students and faculty.

Channel 9 watched as hundreds of students arrived by car then parked in a nearby garage and walked past the unfinished light rail station.

New public records obtained by Whistleblower 9 show a highly contentious relationship between the Charlotte Area Transit System and its lead contractor Balfour Beatty.

In a series of emails from March, the city blames the contractor for the delay and the contractor blames the city.

One Balfour Beatty letter argues emphatically that "the root cause of delays to the project have not been contractor caused."

The contractor said CATS submitted flawed design plans and managed the project poorly.

Whistleblower 9 has previously raised questions about CATS role in the Blue Line Extension delay in a series of investigative reports.

[Blue line extension delayed, CATS officials say]

The city responded to Balfour Beatty with letters saying contractor supervision and staffing levels have been "horribly inadequate."

CATS CEO John Lewis provided the following written statement on Tuesday: 

“CATS is focused on bringing the Lynx Blue Line Extension to the Charlotte community by March 2018. 

We had an ambitious schedule to open August 2017 in order to accommodate our community partners. 

We will continue to work diligently to begin revenue service as quickly and safely as possible.”

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