OGDEN -- Payment of a $13 million settlement to a losing bidder for an Interstate 15 improvement project was necessary to avoid a lengthy court battle that could have significantly delayed construction, Lt. Gov. Greg Bell said Wednesday.
"It wasn't payola," Bell told the Standard-Examiner regarding Utah Department of Transportation's settlement with the consortium of Flatiron-Skanska- Zachry.
Bell's remarks came following a luncheon with Ogden-area service club members at the Timbermine Restaurant.
Gov. Gary Herbert was slated to speak to the club but was unable to attend because he was at a Utah League of Cities and Towns event honoring A. Scott Anderson, president of Zions Bank.
Flatiron-Skanska-Zachry had complained the winning bidder for the I-15 project, Provo River Constructors, received favoritism during the bidding process and threatened to sue the state as a result.
Provo River Constructors has donated more than $80,000 to Herbert's campaign. Utah is one of a handful of states that places no limits on who can donate to a campaign or how large those contributions can be.
Herbert's Democratic opponent in the November election, Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon, is trying to paint Herbert as someone who doles out favors in exchange for contributions.
Corroon favors campaign contribution limits and restrictions; Herbert does not.
UDOT's $13 million payout to Flatiron-Skanska-Zachry wasn't disclosed until Monday, when Herbert held a news conference to say he wasn't awarding favors to campaign contributors as the Corroon campaign suggested in a lengthy memo and subsequent TV commercials.
Herbert has angrily denied there is a pay-to-play scheme in the governor's office, saying it is wrong to question his integrity.
Bell said he and Herbert had no idea that UDOT paid a settlement to Flatiron-Skanska-Zachry and were surprised by the revelation. "We didn't know about it."
In addition to avoiding a protracted legal battle with Flatiron-Skanska-Zachry, the payout enabled the company to recoup design and engineering costs for its failed bid proposal, Bell said.
Meanwhile, UDOT Executive Director John Njord apologized Wednesday to state lawmakers for not letting them know he agreed to the settlement.
"I should have come to this body. I should have come to the governor's office and made full disclosure to everybody. I did not do that, and that was my mistake, and obviously we have some pretty significant allegations today as the result of the mistake that I made," Njord said at a legislative transportation committee hearing.
"I'm apologetic for that, and I have no excuse."
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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