The contractor contracted to rebuild an underground parking garage at the Westmoreland County Courthouse claims it is still owed nearly $1 million.

Carl Walker Construction of Robinson filed suit this week, demanding payment for its work to complete the project, which has been plagued by cost overruns and delays.

The company was hired in 2022 for a six-month, $7 million project that authorities said involved demolishing and rebuilding the underground parking structure, which authorities feared was at risk of collapse because water had seeped into the concrete foundation.

The $7 million price tag was intended to cover all costs of demolishing the old building and building the new garage, as well as other work related to resurfacing the yard near the courthouse’s main entrance on Main Street in downtown Greensburg.

Cost overruns totaling more than $2 million were caused by design errors and unexpected construction problems that drove up the final price. As a result, the project cost rose to more than $9 million, according to the lawsuit.

In April, county commissioners approved a $1 million payment to Carl Walker Construction for additional work, including building new holding cells for the Sheriff’s Department that were removed during reconstruction, as well as walls, drains, sidewalks and insurance costs.

The additional payments included $40,000 to install a county flag in the concrete of the courthouse square, $70,000 for aluminum letters spelling out “Westmoreland” and $100,000 for yellow metal awnings in the courtyard.

The company says it is still owed more than $968,000 for work needed to complete the project, including installing additional concrete columns and beams, walls, foundations and other repairs.

“The County has provided no explanation for its distinction between overtime for which it agreed to compensate Carl Walker and overtime for which it refused to compensate Carl Walker,” the lawsuit states.

In court documents, the company claims it received construction plans for the new garage and courtyard design late, delaying completion of the work.

District Attorney Melissa Guiddy cited ongoing litigation and declined to comment on the allegations made in the lawsuit.

The garage project was originally scheduled to be completed in six months, but took more than 16 months to complete. The garage opened in July 2023 and the new courtyard was unveiled a month later.

The work, which began in March 2022, required county officials to close off the front entrance to the government building and reopen a door to the century-old portion of the complex that had been unused for decades. The county paid about $134,000 in parking fees for about 140 county employees during construction. Elected officials were allowed to continue parking at the courthouse during construction.

The original construction plans had to be changed after work began, district officials said.

“Until we demolished (the garage), we didn’t know what we had,” Greg McCloskey, director of the building department, said previously of the cost overruns. “There were material shortages and the architects had to refine the drawings.”

Those revised plans call for additional support beams and columns in the garage that could support a four-story expansion of the courthouse complex above the new parking garage where the courtyard is now located, officials said.

Throughout the delay, county officials insisted that construction costs would not increase.

Carl Walker is seeking payment of the amount allegedly owed to him, plus an additional amount for interest, attorneys’ fees, costs and other damages approved by the court.