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Indiana agency rejects bill for emergency I-65 bridge work

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) – Indiana highway officials have rejected a $1.4 million bill from a construction company for repairing an Interstate 65 bridge that faced a month long emergency closure last summer.

Walsh Construction Co. submitted the payment request for its work stabilizing a bridge over Wildcat Creek near Lafayette after pile-driving work was blamed for causing it to sink several inches. The company’s invoice cites costs for temporary supports, monitoring and equipment downtime.

State highway department spokesman Will Wingfield tells WLFI-TV that the company was responsible for designing the highway-widening project and didn’t demonstrate why it should be paid more money.

A company spokeswoman didn’t immediately return a telephone message seeking comment Tuesday.

The state last year awarded Walsh an $83 million contract to widen a nearly 10-mile stretch of I-65.