联邦索赔法院法官已阻止了美国陆军工程兵团去年授予承包商Phillips＆Jordan Inc.的近8000万美元的佛罗里达大沼泽运河项目，并于去年命令该机构重新评估寻求工作的承包商的建议。

The court ruling comes in a lawsuit filed in December by Thalle Construction Co. Inc., Hillsborough, N.C., a unit of big New York City-based contractor Tully Group. The suit alleges that the Corps Jacksonville district failed to evaluate its proposal for the project in accordance with bid solicitation terms for the first phase of the $3.5-billion Central Everglades Planning Project's大沼泽地农业区reservoir plan. It is set to complete in 2029.

正如E新利lucknr先前报道的那样，军团去年9月宣布已授予7980万美元的固定价格合同to Knoxville, Tenn.-based Phillips & Jordan for the work.

In a heavily redacted complaint, Thalle claims its bid was lower than that of Phillips & Jordan, but the Corps identified “weaknesses” in it without seeking further clarification. The specifics of Thalle’s bid, including the dollar amount, and apparent issues the Corps had with it, were redacted from the available copies of the court documents.

Judge Thompson Dietz issued the opinion April 12 for the New Orleans-based court, and it was unsealed May 3.

杰克逊维尔地区发言人埃里卡·斯科尔特（Erica Skolte）在一份声明中说，该军团“打算根据法官的意见和来源选择标准重新评估[Thalle]和[Phillips＆Jordan]的建议。”

代表Thalle的律师Jake Scott，代表Phillips＆Jordan的Robert Symon拒绝对判决或可能的上诉发表评论。

At least two other would-be contractors on the project protested the Corps’ decision,美国政府问责办公室记录显示。

One protest, filed by J.E. McAmis Inc. of Chico, Calif., raised issues potentially similar to those in Thalle’s complaint. McAmis claimed it had included required details about construction scheduling, but that the Corps said the contractor did not sufficiently explain how it calculated the time frames, despite the company including a list of equipment to be used and the production rates of the equipment, plus a schedule for a six-day work week minus holidays and accounting for potential weather delays.

Still, Corps officials considered the proposal ineligible. GAO denied the McAmis protest.

The second protest, filed by Kolb Grading LLC of Weldon Spring, Mo., was dismissed because GAO officials said it was filed too late.

The contract covers construction of about 7.2 miles of reservoir inflow/outflow canals plus a maintenance road in the Everglades Agricultural Area south of Lake Okeechobee. The Corps’ larger plans for the area include the eventual construction of a 240,000-acre-ft reservoir. The projects are aimed at restoring the natural flows of water in the central and southern Everglades by retaining water.

The reservoir will store water that now is lost to the tide, allowing it to be treated, and also providing flood protection, officials say.

在授予菲利普斯和约旦的合同时，军团官员表示，他们预计工作将于2021年11月开始，并在2023年底完成。

目前尚不清楚诉讼和判断将如何影响该时间表。