x
Breaking News
More () »

County Reaches Settlement With Employee Who Sounded Alarm On Faulty Bridges

WASHINGTON COUNTY (KFSM) — Washington County reached a settlement of $95,000 with a former Road Department employee who sounded the alarm about crews devi...
justice-scales

WASHINGTON COUNTY (KFSM) — Washington County reached a settlement of $95,000 with a former Road Department employee who sounded the alarm about crews deviating from engineer’s design plans in the construction of two bridges in the county.

George Braswell filed a lawsuit against the county in December 2014 alleging harassment from then-Road Department Superintendent Donnie Coleman after he brought up his concerns about structural deficiencies in the Harvey Dowell Bridge between Fayetteville and Elkins and the Stonewall Road Bridge near Prairie Grove.

According to the suit, Braswell also told Washington County Judge Marilyn Edwards about the structural deficiencies, but she “took no action to address the issues.”

The county Road Department ended up tearing down the partially-constructed Stonewall Bridge after county officials said they watched a video showing shortcuts were taken in its construction. The county also put a new weight limit on the Harvey Dowell Bridge.

Washington County officials also conducted an investigation into the Road Department that found the work environment and lack of training contributed to the shortcuts taken during the construction of both bridges.

Braswell was terminated from the Road Department in May 2016, according to the settlement. Beside the county, Edwards, Coleman, William Reed, Jeff Crowder, Dan Short, Shawn Shrum and Hayden Wagnon were named as defendants in Braswell’s lawsuit.

Before You Leave, Check This Out