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Jul 28, 2006 12:04 am US/Eastern
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I-Team: Review Recommendation For Big Dig Ignored
Review Asked For During Congressional Hearing
by Joe Bergantino
BOSTON (CBS4) ―
When the Big Dig sprung a massive leak almost two years ago, it was a warning.
The quality of construction on the project was –at the very least, questionable –at worst, it was shoddy and dangerous.
So in April 2005 at a congressional hearing in Boston, Ken Mead, then the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Transportation made a recommendation.
In written testimony he said:
"The (turnpike) Authority and the Federal Highway Administration should be taking steps to ensure that there are no other construction quality lapses. They should consider implementing a project-wide construction quality review."
Was that done on this project? The i-team has learned the answer is no.
"Clearly there's negligence involved here in not following up on the recommendations. There should be consequences to that," said Rep. Stephen Lynch.
According to Scott Amey, with the non-profit project on government oversight, "The Federal Highway wasn't performing its mission in reviewing and overseeing the Big Dig."
"They should have gone back to every single contract and looked at every single specification and requirement," Amey said.
The next step would have been to make sure that contractors delivered on what they promised. That was also never done.
So where was Mitt Romney, the state's chief executive at the time?
A month earlier, in March 2005, the governor ordered the state highway department to do a safety review of the Big Dig, focused specifically on the leaks, and then he lashed out at turnpike boss Matt Amorello.
But the Romney administration, aware of the federal inspector general's recommendation for a review of all Big Dig construction, chose not to investigate beyond the leaks.
"He still was the governor and had the authority and the ability and the power to have somebody, maybe the secretary of transportation, or even and independent commission then do it," said Rep. Michael Capuano.
Bottom line, the Turnpike Authority, the Federal Highway Administration and even the Romney administration, which by its own actions had the power to review Big Dig safety 15 months ago, all appear to have dropped the ball.
You can add Congress and the state legislature to that list for not making sure someone did a project wide construction review - one more lost opportunity that perhaps could have saved a life and millions of taxpayer dollars.
One immediate consequence is that the federal government is holding back the last $81 million it will shell out for the Big Dig. That's out of $8.5 billion.
As for what can be done about the Federal Highway Administration's failure to do its job, Congress has the power to call the agency on the carpet and make sure heads roll. So far that hasn't happened.
Keep in mind, The Turnpike Authority is one of at least three government agencies with oversight over the Big Dig.
So far the other two, The Federal Highway Administration and the State Highway Department (aka Mitt Romney) have been given a great big pass.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)