CITY SETTLES LAWSUIT WITH ROAD CONTRACTOR.

Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - The City Council has agreed to pay $275,000 to the contractor hired to realign Wiley Canyon Road in order to settle a lawsuit against the city.

Los Angeles-based Gueno Development Co. Inc. had claimed in its suit that the city owed the company $1.13 million after a retaining wall built along the shaved-down hillside on Wiley Canyon Road had to be redesigned and partially rebuilt. The firm agreed to settle the suit last week, City Attorney Carl Newton said. Newport Beach-based Boyle Engineering Corp., the company that designed the wall and the road realignment for the city, will pay Gueno $170,000. Boyle officials did not return phone calls Wednesday. City officials said that Gueno cut the hill down too much, which destabilized the retaining wall and forced the redesign. The problem led to a lengthy delay of the reopening of Wiley Canyon Road between Calgrove Boulevard and Lyons Avenue, a critical route to Newhall and to the Golden State Freeway.

But Gueno officials, who also did not return phone calls Wednesday, said in court filings that they were following city plans when they removed a section of the hillside.

``We're pleased that this puts the project to bed and we can move on to other projects,'' said Chris Price, supervising engineer for the city.

The settlement brings the total cost of the road realignment to about $1.8 million, Price said. The road reopened in August 1999 after the 11- month project.

``It was one of those situations where there was some responsibility on the part of all involved, and not clearly anyone's fault,'' Price said.

The project straightened the road, which was narrow and winding with poor visibility, and moved it away from the steep hillside. A dangerous S-curve often forced traffic to slow to 15 mph before the improvements were completed.

The 550-foot-long, 35-foot-high cement retaining wall also prevents debris from the hillside from littering the street, which had forced city officials to close the road during heavy rains.

New curbs, gutters, sidewalks, flood control improvements and a bike path were added. In addition, a new cul-de-sac was created for homes along the former contour of Wiley Canyon Road.

Eventually, the city's General Plan calls for Wiley Canyon Road, which is currently four lanes, to be expanded to six lanes. This project was the first step in that effort.

``This was an unique project, well outside what we normally take on,'' Price said. ``Next time, we'll make sure that we bring in experts and verify the plans before moving ahead with a project like this.''