An outer lane of Middle Road’s southbound side in Garapan is coned off for motorists’ safety.
DEPARTMENT of Public Works Secretary Ray N. Yumul and U.S.A. Fanter Corp. President Guocao “Steve” Quian met on Friday to discuss the sinking asphalt pavement at the intersection of Middle Road and Kopa Di Oru in Garapan.
Funded by the Federal Highway Administration, the $2.2 million intersection improvement and installation of traffic system project began in February 2022 and was completed in July 2023.
Over the last few months, however, the asphalt pavement in the outer lane has sunk, creating a ditch and slowing traffic in the inner portion of the southbound lane of Middle Road at the Kopa Di Oru intersection.
On Feb. 22, 2025, Yumul wrote Quian a letter, giving U.S.A. Fanter 30 days to repair the road “under contract warranty.” Yumul said failure to comply would result in a breach of contract.
Yumul said the condition of that stretch of Middle Road “is a threat to motorists and the public.”
He said a proof drilling of the settled pavement determined that U.S.A. Fanter “failed to follow the road work as originally designed and contracted” and that the government is therefore notifying U.S.A. Fanter of non-compliance during the contract performance.
In his reply, Quian reminded Yumul that he issued a certificate of completion and acceptance on Sept. 20, 2023.
In the certificate, Quian said DPW indicated that “the work was inspected and found in accordance with the contract plans and specifications and the date of completion and acceptance [is] hereby established as July 12, 2023, which is also the date the warranty period commenced.”
Citing Section 40 of the contract, Quian noted that the contractor’s warranty expired on July 11, 2024.
For this reason, he added, U.S.A. Fanter “disputes [Yumul’s] position that U.S.A. Fanter is obligated contractually (the contract closed and warranty period has expired) to address [the] concerns” that the DPW secretary raised in his letter.
Still, Quian told Yumul, U.S.A. Fanter “is willing to meet with you to discuss your concerns and at the same time allow U.S.A. Fanter to address its concerns that remain unresolved regarding the project.”
In response to Variety’s request for comment on Friday, U.S.A. Fanter said that in the meeting with the DPW secretary on that day, U.S.A. Fanter “agreed to submit a proposal to make repairs at U.S.A. Fanter’s cost for the secretary’s consideration to resolve his concerns detailed in his letter.”
The proposal, U.S.A. Fanter said, “is to be reviewed and approved by a geotechnical engineer before submission to the secretary.”
The proposal preparation, U.S.A. Fanter added, “is already in progress and should be transmitted to the secretary next week.”
U.S.A. Fanter said the repair covered by warranty “was first delayed by wet weather and [is] now delayed due to U.S.A. Fanter and DPW having a difference of opinion as to how to make the repair.”
The contractor explained that “buried utilities (IT&E fiber optic cable and traffic light sensor wiring) were uncovered during excavation.” A licensed geotechnical engineer will address this matter and “make a recommendation as to how to make the repair and cure the settling of the asphalt pavement and at the same time protect the uncovered buried utilities from damage.”
