3 new bridges for Iraq...

Iraq’s transportation networks are vital supports of Iraqi commerce, culture, and infrastructure. By 2004, USAID had rebuilt a series of crucial bridges, reconnecting Iraqi cities and provinces while reestablishing key commercial links to neighboring countries.

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ACCOMPLISHMENTS: BRIDGES

USAID completed 36 detailed assessments and demolished irreparable bridge sections in the rebuilding of three key bridges: the Al Mat Bridge, the Khazir Bridge, and the Tikrit Bridge.

* The Al Mat Bridge is a key link on the main highway between Baghdad and Jordan used by more than 3,000 trucks daily. Work was completed and the bridge was reopened to two-way traffic on March 3, 2004.
* The Khazir Bridge is critical to the flow of fuel and agricultural products in northern Iraq. The bridge’s four lanes were completed on May 1, 2004.
* The Tikrit Bridge is an important link for passengers and commerce over the Tigris River between Tikrit and Tuz Khurmatu. This two-lane bridge was reopened to traffic on September 15, 2004. In addition, USAID also repaired a floating bridge over the Tigris River at Al Kut, improving traffic for 50,000 travelers a day.

South Span of Iraq's Al Mat Bridge Reopens (2/10/2004)

Bechtel-led team helps restore vital transportation link (photo)

BAGHDAD, IRAQ, February 10, 2004--Bechtel today announced the opening of the south span of the Al Mat Bridge, a key transportation link in Iraq approximately 300 km (186 miles) west of Baghdad and 180 km (112 miles) from the Jordanian border.

The four-lane Al Mat Bridge is located on Highway 10, which carries over 3,000 trucks daily, bringing humanitarian aid and goods to Baghdad and other Iraqi cities from Jordan. Both bridge spans suffered extensive damage during the conflict. To accommodate traffic on this vital route, Bechtel constructed a bypass around the damaged bridge, which opened in July 2003. Opening of the south span to two-way traffic has eliminated the need for this bypass.

As part of its contract with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Bechtel subcontracted the Al Mat work to Al Qarya Company, an Iraqi construction firm. Al Qarya employed 40 field personnel at the peak of repairs, and worked under Bechtel supervision to complete the 6-month reconstruction project. The subcontractor demolished the unusable section of the bridge and reconstructed the downed span with precast prestressed beams and a composite bridge deck. Al Qarya purchased the prestressed beams from an Iraqi fabricator, Dijla Prestressing, in Baghdad. Al Qarya also repaired concrete columns and beams that were damaged during the conflict, and replaced or repaired all damaged handrails and lighting.

"Al Qarya did a great job and effectively met the reconstruction challenges the damaged bridge presented," said Ron Ramsay, Bechtel's project manager for Iraq bridges. "This was an especially rewarding project because it directly benefits the Iraqi people, and the work was performed by Iraqi firms."

Completion of the north span of the bridge is expected in March.

In support of the Coalition Provisional Authority's reconstruction effort in Iraq, Bechtel is under contract with USAID for the repair, rehabilitation, or reconstruction of vital elements of Iraq's infrastructure. This effort runs through 2005 and includes the repair and renovation of port facilities, power stations, telecommunications, water systems, rail, bridges, buildings, and airports.

Bechtel is one of the world's premier engineering-construction organizations. It provides technical, management, and directly related services to develop, finance, build, and operate installations for customers in a wide range of industries. To date, Bechtel has worked on more than 20,000 projects in 140 countries on all seven continents.

Big Dig payment for fraud at $50m
But company can still do business

By Sean P. Murphy, Globe Staff | July 28, 2007

Aggregate Industries NE Inc., which pleaded guilty to fraud for supplying 5,700 truckloads of substandard concrete on the Big Dig, will pay $50 million to settle the case, but it can still do business with the state and federal governments.

In a key provision of the agreement announced yesterday between Aggregate and state and federal prosecutors, the region's largest concrete supplier avoided debarment, an administrative sanction that would have prevented the company from bidding on federal or state contracts, which make up most of the company's business.

R. Robert Popeo, a lawyer who represented Aggregate, said debarment would have forced its parent company to close Aggregate and sell its assets.

US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan acknowledged that the provision was a key factor in Aggregate accepting the settlement. "Obviously, a debarred company has less value than one that is not debarred," he said during a press conference.
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Under the agreement, Aggregate will also sell its largest asphalt plant in Boston and pay for a monitor to track its legal compliance. The company also agreed to provide as much as $75 million in insurance for potential structural maintenance costs and to pay $500,000 to state highway officials to check regularly the places where they suspect substandard concrete was poured.

While the case against the company is finished, criminal charges remain against six of its former managers. In a 135-count indictment announced last year, the managers were accused of repeatedly passing off over-age concrete as fresh and of falsifying documents to cover the scheme.
http://www.boston.com/news/traffic/bigdig/articles/2007/07/28/big_dig_payment_for_fraud_at_50m/

For one year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and several Iraqi contractors worked to repair the landmark. Funded by the United States Agency for International Development, the bridge cost $3.2 million to renovate.

The bridge was originally designed and consequently repaired in accordance with United Kingdom Highways Agency standards. The original was designed to hold 55.6 tons. Now it can safely hold 90

In August 2003 USAID hired Bechtel National Inc., which subcontracted with 77 Construction Company, an Iraqi firm, to repair the bridge. The project cost about $5.4 million, Stevenson said.