REPORT: CANCEL CITY CONTRACT FOR FLYAWAY PROJECT LAGGING BY MANY DAYS.

Byline: James Nash Staff Writer

The contractor handling the $41 million upgrade of the Van Nuys FlyAway terminal has botched the job so badly it should be removed from the project, Airport Department officials recommend in a report released Friday.

The report recommends scrapping the contract with Tutor-Saliba Corp., action that could further stall work on a project designed to help more travelers go between Van Nuys Airport and Los Angeles International Airport quickly and relatively cheaply.

Airport officials faulted Tutor-Saliba for falling 40 days behind schedule in building a new bus terminal and 49 days behind schedule in building a parking structure at Van Nuys Airport.

The Board of Airport Commissioners, which oversees the airport system, is scheduled to vote Monday on whether to terminate its $33.9 million contract with Tutor-Saliba, a politically connected company based in Sylmar.

Tutor-Saliba President Ronald Tutor said airport officials assured him his company is coming into compliance and would not be fired from the renovation project.

``We've done everything they've asked us to, even if it wasn't right,'' Tutor said. ``They're not going to throw us off the job in a million years. We haven't done anything wrong.''

Van Nuys Airport spokesman Richard French said Tutor-Saliba is beginning to address problems with its work and might get to keep its contract.

``We really hope that the matter will not be resolved with drastic action,'' French said. ``There's been continuous progress.''

In the year since Tutor-Saliba began work on the expansion, it has been cited for dozens of violations, including the use of substandard building materials and misaligning the concrete columns and beams in the parking structure.

Tutor-Saliba has donated thousands of dollars to local politicians and contributed $100,000 to Mayor James Hahn's campaign against San Fernando Valley secession in 2002.

Some critics have questioned whether the company got the Van Nuys contract because of its political connections, which city and airport officials deny.

Tutor-Saliba has completed about 48 percent of the FlyAway project and has been paid 45 percent of its $33.9 million contract, French said.

If the Board of Airport Commissioners concludes that Tutor-Saliba is in default of its contract, it could award a new contract to the company, give the work to another contractor or have Los Angeles World Airports handle the project in-house, said Nancy Castles, a spokeswoman for the airport system.

Castles said the airport system likely doesn't have the resources to finish the project itself.

Robert Rodine, chairman of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association's aviation committee, said the prospect of further delays is troubling to Valley travelers who fly from LAX but want to avoid traffic and parking hassles there.

``We're coming into the summer rush season, and the holidays aren't too far after that,'' Rodine said. ``I'm very concerned.''

The FlyAway terminal opened in 1975 and runs more than 100 buses a day between Van Nuys and LAX.

James Nash, [phone]

james.nash(at)dailynews.com