Prosecutors said the Linden Center Construction Company is paying the federal and state governments more than $600,000 to resolve allegations that the contractor had defects in the construction of four bridges in southern Vermont about a decade ago.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office of Vermont, JA McDonald Inc. agreed to pay $637,500 in the settlement agreement reached before the lawsuit was filed in court. It involved the construction of two bridges on Highway 279 in Bennington, and the construction of two other bridges on Interstate 91 in Guildford.

In a press release issued on Monday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated that the settlement resolved the allegations that sometime between 2008 and 2010, employees of JA McDonald deliberately cut the reinforced concrete substructure that supports the bridge Or burn down multiple sections of steel bars. Authorities said employees also took steps to conceal this information from the Vermont Department of Transportation, which is responsible for the construction project.

You will never miss a report that contains our daily headlines in your inbox.

The authorities believe that due to suspected misconduct, the Transportation Bureau unknowingly paid JA McDonald the cost of “insufficient bridge works”, and then filed a false claim with the Federal Highway Administration for reimbursement of the federal government’s payment to the general. Share. contractor.

According to the Vermont Attorney General’s Office, JA McDonald was paid a total of $29 million for his work on the four bridges.

Vermont Transportation Secretary Joe Flynn said in a statement: "This settlement agreement ends more than two years of work and acknowledges full responsibility for the work done on behalf of taxpayers." 

The Transportation Bureau said earlier that after a thorough inspection, it found that the structure of all bridges is intact and safe, and can meet full capacity. However, the life of these structures will be reduced from the typical standard of 75-100 years to 50-75 years.

The U.S. Attorney's Office stated that under the terms of the settlement, JA McDonald did not admit responsibility for the bridge project. The court did not rule on liability.   

JA McDonald did not participate in any maintenance to ensure the long-term safety of the bridge. The Attorney General’s Office stated that the cost of remedial work has been recovered through a settlement.

The employee’s motive for alleged misconduct is unclear. The Attorney General’s Office referred the issue to the company.

When asked for comment on Tuesday, JA McDonald said it would issue a press release. By Tuesday night, the company had not done so. 

After receiving the whistleblower complaint in 2018, state and federal authorities began investigating the contractor.

After the country announced an investigation into JA McDonald in 2019, the company stated in a press release that year that these bridges were built "under different company ownership" and that they had fully cooperated with the investigation.

In addition to the settlement payment, JA McDonald also agreed to implement several measures that will make it a state and federal contractor. These measures include the appointment of a company compliance officer to ensure that employees comply with the company's quality control plan and ethics and compliance guidelines.

The company will also retain an independent supervisor who will conduct unannounced on-site inspections of the company's work on federally funded projects within three years and submit a report to the Federal Highway Administration.

In 2017, JA McDonald also agreed to pay US$270,000 to resolve allegations that it had built a defective bridge over the New Haven River. According to the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation, the authorities claimed that the company installed 12 bridge bearing assembly components in 2014 and later discovered major defects in these components.

The project was contracted by the Vermont Department of Transportation and federally funded. 

Stay up to date with all criminal justice news in Vermont. Sign up here to receive an email every week with all VTDigger reports on courts and crimes.

Tiffany Tan is a South Vermont reporter for VTDigger. Before joining VTDigger, she covered the police and courts for Bennington Banner from 2018 to 2021. Prior to this, Tiffany worked at Rapid City Journal in South Dakota, and worked in newspapers and television stations in Manila, Singapore and Beijing for more than 10 years.

View all Tiffany Tan stories

VTDigger is now accepting letters to the editor. For information on our guidelines and access to the letter form, please click here.

Don't miss the best VTDiger