A federal lawsuit has been filed against contractors working on the $3.6 billion Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project, alleging they violated federal Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) rules in pursuit of profits.

The complaint, filed June 18 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, accuses two joint ventures between Walsh Construction and Kokosing Construction, identified as WKJV and WKJVII, of sidelining required DBE partners after leveraging their credentials to secure the job.

Civil rights attorney Jamir Davis of Covington-based J. Davis Law Firm claims he was brought in for his DBE compliance expertise, then excluded from the project after the JV obtained the contract. “Once Walsh and WEB had utilized JDLF’s qualifications and expertise, they conspired against JDLF by fabricating fraudulent qualifications for WEB’s project manager,” the suit reads.

Also named in the complaint are WEB Ventures LLC, a DBE consultant, and Make It Plain Consulting, an HR firm both based in Cincinnati. Davis alleges the joint venture first replaced his firm with WEB Ventures, then substituted WEB with Make It Plain, both allegedly unqualified to fulfill the federally mandated DBE oversight role.

“To circumvent this requirement, WKJV and WEB orchestrated a scheme to reduce oversight and compliance with federal diversity standards, prioritizing their financial interests over legal obligations,” the complaint alleges.

According to the lawsuit, Davis reported the issue and the Ohio Department of Transportation confirmed the violation, leading to WEB Ventures’ removal from the project. Despite this, Davis contends that ODOT “ignored and enabled these actions” by failing to investigate further and allowing the JV to self-perform DBE oversight. The agency declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation.

“Walsh has a long history of engaging in practices that constitute DBE fraud,” the suit alleges, referencing a 2023 settlement in which Walsh paid nearly $1.1 million to resolve allegations of DBE program fraud on Massachusetts’ Whittier Bridge/I-95 Improvement Project.

The current Brent Spence Bridge upgrade includes building a new 10-lane companion bridge and rehabilitating the existing span between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky. The joint project is seen as a flagship investment under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

On the same day Davis filed suit, the states unveiled the final design: a cable-stayed, bi-level bridge without the traditional steel truss. “This bridge will become an iconic part of the Cincinnati skyline and a landmark gateway that honors our states’ excellence in engineering,” said Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.

This isn’t the first controversy the Brent Spence Bridge project has faced. In October 2024, four local organizations sued the project team over alleged environmental justice violations, arguing that the bridge’s design would disproportionately impact non-White communities and failed to adequately incorporate non-vehicle transportation options.

The broader project is scheduled to be completed in 2032, with AECOM leading the design and Jacobs providing engineering services. Despite progress in planning, construction has not yet begun. The project continues to serve as a national test case for how large-scale federal infrastructure investments balance compliance, inclusion, and impact on local communities.

Originally reported by Julie Strupp in Construction Dive.