A Connecticut construction company has agreed to pay $580,000 to resolve allegations it overbilled the federal government for a bridge reconstruction project.
U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly announced the agreement Wednesday.
Prosecutors say URS Corporation AES, based in Rocky Hill, took over a contract in 2008 to provide construction management services to replace the Niantic River Bridge for Amtrak.
The federal government says URS charged the maximum labor rates, rather than the actual labor rates, in most instances while it was handling the contract. The federal government was overbilled as a result.
The project was completed on schedule in May 2013.
This case was investigated by Amtrak's Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General. Daly says URS cooperated with the investigation.
As the 1950s came to a close to begin a period of post-war adjustment, there were few who imagined this long stretch of concrete was the brainchild of a young soldier in 1919.
When a caravan of army vehicles experimented by embarking on a cross-country automobile trip from Washington, D.C. to San Francisco, it became apparent that America couldn’t depend on its rural road system. It took 62 days to reach California, and one of the participating soldiers was Dwight D. Eisenhower.Slightly less than 30 years later, Eisenhower was said to be impressed by the Autobahn highway in post-war Germany. This wide stretch of highway would become the design for a new America. But it wasn’t planned to help Americans get from one place to another faster, but rather for military purposes. When Eisenhower became president he wanted an Interstate highway system that could be an evacuation route for citizens in the event of an enemy attack.
Thus, in 1953 during the Cold War, the federal government designed a plan that would snake 42,000 miles of highway through the busiest parts of the nation. Three years later Congress approved the Federal Aid Highway Act and paid for 90 percent of the construction with states paying remaining costs. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Boathouse talks launch Middletown’s vision for Connecticut River waterfront
MIDDLETOWN >> In 1943, under Mayor Salvatore Cubeta’s leadership, the seeds of riverfront revitalization were sown. Fast-forward 73 years and his vision — and that of many officials and community members over the years — has become a reality after decades of plans and concepts.
Today, the city has secured the resources needed to create a Connecticut River waterfront that is more accessible and full of bustling activity.
To make sure residents’ ideas are considered, the Department of Planning, Conservation and Development is asking for the public’s input on what the waterfront should look and feel like.
Architectural Resources Cambridge of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and local engineering firm Tighe & Bond have been tasked with designing a new boathouse that would become the focal point of the riverside. Presently at Harbor Park there are two — Wesleyan University’s Macomber Boathouse and Middletown High School’s Crew Boathouse — both of which are heavily used during the season for practices and races as well as regattas.
On Tuesday night, the firms held a first public workshop to hear what amenities people would like to see included in the final design proposal. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE