I-59/I-20 bridge contractor's history of federal fines

California-based Granite Construction is the company that’s been working on the second phase of the I-59/I-20 Bridge Replacement Project in downtown Birmingham.

They were on the job when construction issues prompted the shutdown of part of Malfunction Junction in the city.

The ABC 33/40 News I-Team took a closer look at Granite Construction. We found a history of federal fines over the past few years.

Here’s a snapshot of Granite Construction’s federal settlements:

• November 2015: Granite Construction paid more than $8 million to the federal government and New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority to settle a fraud case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York says Granite falsely claimed that a minority-owned subcontractor performed millions of dollars of construction work on a New York bus depot when it didn’t.
• February 2013: Granite paid the federal government nearly $368,000 to settle allegations of overcharging on federal construction projects across the country.
• January 2013: Granite agreed to pay $735,000 in federal environmental fines. That was to resolve allegations that it allowed muddy construction storm water to flow into the massive Yaquina River in Oregon. Granite did not admit fault in that case.

The Alabama Department of Transportation says Granite Construction crews were installing a steel girder when a beam started slipping.

That prompted the shutdown of I-59/I-20 southbound at the I-65 interchange, the rerouting of traffic, and traffic jams.

ALDOT is paying Granite Construction nearly $209 million to redesign and construct new interchange ramps as part of the I-59/I-20 bridge project.

Granite is a publicly-traded company. It’s one of the largest infrastructure contractors in the United States.