The long-delayed U.S. Capitol Visitor Center should be completed in June 2008, but delays in critical activities threaten to throw the project’s timeline out of whack yet again, a U.S. House panel was told Wednesday.
The 580,000-square-foot underground facility, a $600 million project, is 95 percent complete, acting Architect of the Capitol Stephen Ayers told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch. The last two months presented several “slippages,” he said, “but on average, the number of days lost was less than in previous months.”
“At this time, we are on track to meet our scheduled June 2008 date to receive the Certificate of Occupancy,” Ayers said. “Nonetheless, we recognize that the project continues to face risks and uncertainties and are instituting additional steps to increase our focus on meeting our scheduled completion dates.”
Ground was broken on the center five years ago. It was initially scheduled to open in January 2005 and cost $265 million.
The Government Accountability Office, which has continually predicted delays based on hiccups in construction and testing of critical safety systems, did not adjust its estimated timeline Wednesday.
But Terrell Dorn, the GAO’s director of physical infrastructure issues, said most of the project’s “near-critical activities,” including the ceiling close-ins, upper level security and
orientation lobbies, have fallen behind.
“Problems in completing the installation, integration, operation and testing of complex major building systems, including the fire alarm, security and HVAC systems, remain the most significant risk facing the project’s schedule,” Dorn told the subcommittee. “Delays continue, and technical problems remain a risk until these systems have been installed, integrated and successfully tested.”
Dorn also said that subcontractors are concerned about the number of proposed change orders, which can modify contracts, delay payments and further delay the project. The number of proposed change orders skyrocketed from 376 in March to 451 in May, Dorn said.
