NATCHEZ — A local construction company that worked on the colonnades restoration is suing the City of Natchez and the project’s engineering firm for damages of more than $500,000.

In the lawsuit, Thompson Tree and Spraying Service, doing business as Live Oak Construction, seeks approximately $539,000 in damages, attorney’s fees and other expenses related to an ongoing dispute about work the company did on the Toll Plaza Colonnades restoration.

The lawsuit names the city and Smith Seckman Reid engineering firm as defendants and alleges breach of contract, negligence, negligent misrepresentation among other allegations.

Work on the historic colonnades was to be completed in the summer of 2015, but was left unfinished after Live Oak Construction owner Dick Thompson said the city refused to pay for extra work necessary to complete the project.

Thompson said last year several construction needs were left out of the restoration plan.

Thompson said prior to the bidding process, engineers did a poor inspection of the historic colonnades, and didn’t account for rotten wood and other infrastructure issues that would need repair.

While working on the colonnades, Thompson said his crewmembers ran into problems with rotten wood and other infrastructure issues, which prompted Thompson to eventually submit 11 change orders, asking for more time and money to complete the project.

Other workers eventually completed the project, with Natchez Community Development Director James Johnston saying the city was unable to add a roof to the 2015 contract with Live Oak Construction because of negotiations on price.

The company’s original bid for the work was $430,000. The Mississippi Department of Transportation, the Mississippi Development Authority and the city, jointly funded the project.

Thompson said this week he had no comment on the lawsuit other than to say, “The city and the engineers failed miserably.”

City Attorney Hyde Carby declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.

The city filed an answer to the lawsuit in late May, denying the allegations and saying any damages the company suffered were caused solely by the negligence, breach of contract or other wrongful acts of others for whom the city is not responsible.

Calls for comment to Smith Seckman Reid engineers were not returned.