Contractors from Maine, Connecticut and New York will pay $1.37 million to resolve allegations concerning false claims for payment related to the rehabilitation of a Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport runway in Westfield, Massachusetts.
As part of the settlement agreement announced by the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts, the three firms — Eurovia Atlantic Coast, LLC d/b/a Northeast Paving, a Maine-based paving and construction company; the Lane Construction Corp., a Connecticut construction company; and Stantec Consulting Services, Inc., a New York engineering firm — have each admitted to and accepted responsibility for facts underlying the covered conduct.
The Westfield-Barnes Airport is the operational center of the Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 104th Fighter Wing, which includes the 131st Fighter Squadron – an operational combat wing that provides combat ready fighter pilots to perform alert missions over the northeastern section of the country
In 2012, the city of Westfield began the process of rehabilitating Runway 2-20, using a mix of federal, state and local funds, including funds from the Department of Transportation and the Department of Defense. To receive the federal funds, the city had to periodically submit claims to the federal agencies, including during and after construction.
In 2013, the city and Stantec entered into an agreement for Stantec to provide certain design services, project management, bidding support and related engineering services for the project, which included developing specifications and drawings. The city subsequently selected Lane Construction to complete the rehabilitation. After completion of the rehabilitation, Northeast Paving purchased some of Lane Construction’s assets.
In 2019, the runway began cracking in the area where the concrete center of the runway and the surrounding asphalt interfaced. The project specifications and plans for the rehabilitation project had provided for a track at the interface between the concrete inlay and surrounding asphalt, according to the government. Although Lane and Stantec certified that the rehabilitation project met the requirements of the plans and specifications, prosecutors says the track was never constructed.
Due to the cracking in the area where the track should have been constructed, the city of Westfield and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation undertook a repair project to address the cracking. During the repair project, 104th Fighter Wing was forced to relocate.
“The defendants cut corners and misrepresented their work wasting taxpayer dollars,” said Brian C. Gallagher, of the DOT Office of Inspector General. “This settlement reflects our commitment and ongoing collaboration with law enforcement and prosecutorial partners to hold contractors accountable for failing to meet contract performance and quality standards.”
“Federal contractors must fulfill their obligations and perform the work they promise to provide, especially where their work impacts the safety of our military,” said U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley. “We will continue to hold contractors to their commitments to ensure that federal agencies and taxpayers get what they paid for.”
Source: U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts
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Claims
Construction
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