By jake weyer

After years of litigation, San Francisco-based engineering firm URS Corp. agreed Aug. 23 to pay $52.4 million to settle numerous lawsuits from the Aug. 1, 2007 Interstate 35W bridge collapse that killed 13 people and injured 145.

“URS believes it is in the best interest of the company and its shareholders to resolve this matter and avoid the cost and distraction of protracted litigation,” the firm said in a prepared statement about the settlement.

The statement stressed that the company reached the agreement with no admission of liability or fault and that it was not involved in the bridge’s design, construction or later resurfacing work. The state hired URS as a consultant on the bridge and the company was working at the site at the time of the