[Organize] Bechtel's Big Dig now subject of criminalinvestigation

[Joanne Sheehan]

I have been in touch with UFPJ folks in Boston, whose steering committee has 
a meeting July 18th, WILPF and WRL folks in hopes of getting someone coming 
forth to organize a demo in Boston. That ws before this tragedy. I'm sure 
encourgement from others would be helpful. Peace, Joanne

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Susan UFPJ" <susan at unitedforpeace.org>
To: "david meieran" <david at heartofdarkness.org>
Cc: <organize at august6.org>
Sent: Wednesday, July 12, 2006 2:24 PM
Subject: Re: [Organize] Bechtel's Big Dig now subject of 
criminalinvestigation


> UFPJ has started making phone calls to member groups, and we are going
> to prioritize contacting folks in Massachusetts.
>
> Susan
>
> david meieran wrote:
>
>>A major section (12 tons!) of one Bechtel's "Big Dig" tunnels in
>>Boston collapsed and killed a woman today, prompting a *criminal*
>>investigation into Bechtel's mismanagement.
>>
>>This further underscores the importance of having an action in
>>Boston, as now they are sure to get plenty of coverage. Please -
>>anyone with any contacts in Boston should work them.
>>
>>Three AP articles are below.
>>
>>dm
>>
>>* * *
>>
>>1. Woman killed when part of ceiling falls in Big Dig tunnel
>>
>>http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/07/11/
>>woman_killed_when_part_of_ceiling_falls_in_i_90_connector_tunnel/?
>>p1=MEWell_Pos4
>>By Ken Maguire, Associated Press Writer  |  July 11, 2006
>>
>>BOSTON --At least 12 tons of concrete fell from the ceiling of one of
>>Boston's Big Dig tunnels, crushing a woman in a car and again raising
>>concerns about the integrity of the massive highway project that is
>>the central artery through the city.
>>
>>A steel tieback that held a 40-foot ceiling section over Interstate
>>90 eastbound gave way late Monday night in the tunnel, a main access
>>way to Boston's Logan International Airport. The tunnel was closed
>>indefinitely as crews worked to remove about 30 ceiling slabs in a
>>200-foot section where the collapse occurred, Authority Chairman
>>Matthew Amorello said Tuesday.
>>
>>Milena Delvalle, 38, of Boston's Jamaica Plain section, was
>>pronounced dead at the scene. Angel Delvalle, 46, managed to crawl
>>out a window of their crushed car with less than a foot of clearance
>>and suffered minor injuries, according to State Police.
>>
>>Their car was partially crushed under at least four ceiling panels,
>>each weighing 3 tons. The vehicle was in the left lane, giving the
>>driver's side more protection as panels came to rest also on a left-
>>side service walkway that is elevated several feet above the road.
>>
>>Milena Delvalle was a native of Costa Rica, and the two were
>>newlyweds. They were on the way to the airport to pick up his brother
>>and sister in law, who had been vacationing in his native Puerto Rico.
>>
>>"We feel awful about what happened last night," Amorello said. "It's
>>an awful, awful tragedy. ... This is an awful situation that occurred."
>>
>>Amorello appointed a state police major, two outside consultants and
>>a team from the Federal Highway Administration to assist in the
>>investigation. The accident happened near the entrance to the Ted
>>Williams Tunnel, which goes under the Boston Harbor to the airport.
>>
>>He said he had ordered a precautionary inspection of the Williams
>>Tunnel, which has similar tiebacks but a different ceiling structure.
>>Amorello also said that tiebacks similar to the one that failed were
>>used in 17 spots on the Interstate 90 section of the Big Dig project,
>>and all those were being checked.
>>
>>"I don't think anyone can feel the tunnels are safe, given what
>>happened this morning," Gov. Mitt Romney told a New England Cable
>>News reporter after touring the accident site.
>>
>>Amorello said he hoped the eastbound side of the closed tunnel could
>>be reopened by midday Wednesday.
>>
>>"Any responsible party will be held accountable for what happened,"
>>Amorello said. "This is an unacceptable, horrible tragedy."
>>
>>The accident caused huge traffic problems, with backups of several
>>miles on many roadways into the city. Motorists trying to get to and
>>from the airport were particularly affected. Traffic headed east to
>>Logan was detoured through the Callahan Tunnel, and westbound traffic
>>exiting the Ted Williams Tunnel was detoured through the city's South
>>Boston neighborhood.
>>
>>Officials urged commuters and airport travelers to use public transit
>>-- particularly trains or boats -- to get to the airport or into the
>>city.
>>
>>The ceiling panels were erected in 1999 and the contractor was Modern
>>Continental, Amorello said.
>>
>>In that section, the tiebacks are bolted to a concrete ceiling. Above
>>it is an industrial area of South Boston home to the Boston
>>Convention Center and the World Trade Center.
>>
>>Modern Continental and a spokesman for project manager Bechtel/
>>Parsons Brinckerhoff did not respond to calls for comment Tuesday.
>>
>>The $14.6 billion Big Dig highway project, which buried Interstate 93
>>beneath downtown and extended the Turnpike to the airport, has been
>>criticized for construction problems and cost overruns that state
>>officials have said did not compromise safety.
>>
>>There have been water leaks in parts of the tunnel system and at
>>least one incident when smaller amounts of dirt and debris from an
>>airshaft in another section of the tunnel system fell onto travel
>>lanes, causing minor damage to cars.
>>
>>In May, prosecutors charged six current and former employees of a
>>concrete supplier with fraud for allegedly concealing that some
>>concrete delivered to the Big Dig was not freshly mixed. State and
>>federal officials said that long-term maintenance, not immediate
>>safety, was the likely impact.
>>
>>Amorello said preliminary investigation shows that the quality of the
>>concrete was not to blame for the fatal accident Monday night.
>>
>>Boston Mayor Tom Menino called for a third-party investigation and
>>quick answers to restore confidence in people traveling in Boston.
>>
>>"We don't need a six-month study. We need an immediate reaction and
>>action by the different authorities so that we can reassure the
>>public as they drive into the city or drive over to the airport that
>>the tunnel is safe to go through," he said.
>>
>>Christy Mihos, an independent candidate for governor and former
>>member of the Turnpike Authority Board and agency critic, called the
>>accident "my worst nightmare come true." He renewed his call for the
>>attorney general to immediately cease any negotiations with Big Dig
>>contractors over construction overcharges and urged the governor to
>>seize control of the Turnpike's day-to-day operations.
>>
>>
>>
>>* * *
>>
>>2. Big Dig ceiling collapse triggers political repercussions
>>By Glen Johnson, AP Political Writer  |  July 11, 2006
>>
>>http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/07/11/
>>big_dig_ceiling_collapse_triggers_political_repercussions?mode=PF
>>
>>BOSTON --It was almost impossible to separate the official from the
>>political Tuesday as all manner of government officials responded to
>>the collapse of Big Dig ceiling panels that killed a passing motorist.
>>
>>Gov. Mitt Romney proposed replacing Turnpike Authority Chairman
>>Matthew Amorello, arguing the fatality was the last example of a
>>series of management failures that has undermined public confidence
>>in the $14.6 billion project. It also would achieve a goal Romney has
>>pursued for over three years, namely bringing the independent
>>authority under his political control.
>>
>>Attorney General Tom Reilly launched a criminal investigation, moving
>>quickly to issue subpoenas and secure evidence. The swiftness of his
>>action belied recent criticism that the Democratic gubernatorial
>>candidate had moved too slowly -- and aimed too low -- as he
>>spearheaded efforts to recoup money from the burgeoning costs of the
>>most expensive highway project in U.S. history.
>>
>>In addition, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino sought an independent safety
>>review of the Central Artery tunnels. It was an effort to reassure
>>commuters and tourists, who help buoy the economy of the state's
>>capital city.
>>
>>Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey -- who is running for governor and
>>was serving as acting governor at the time of the fatality while
>>Romney was out of state on vacation -- complained about a lack of
>>communication by Amorello, saying she didn't hear about it until the
>>morning and largely through media reports.
>>
>>And a visibly shaken Christy Mihos, who has used his anti-Turnpike
>>celebrity to buoy his independent gubernatorial campaign, labeled the
>>accident "my worst nightmare come true."
>>
>>Strangely silent on the whole matter was the state Legislature, which
>>has injected itself into Big Dig politics at pivotal moments in the
>>past -- most recently 10 days ago when they voted to extend the term
>>of a departing board member in an effort to prevent Romney from
>>gaining control of the Turnpike Authority, which governs the
>>construction project.
>>
>>It was members of the House and Senate, under the leadership of House
>>Speaker Thomas Finneran and Senate President Thomas Birmingham, who
>>almost precisely four years ago also tucked a provision into a
>>transportation bond bill that expanded the Turnpike Authority's board
>>of directors from three to five members.
>>
>>The move, signed into law by then-acting Gov. Jane Swift on Aug. 10,
>>2002, thwarted efforts by Mihos and fellow board member Jordan Levy
>>to increase public oversight of the Big Dig project. That same year,
>>Swift brought in Amorello as the authority's chairman, creating a
>>foil for Romney when he took office in January 2003.
>>
>>The decay in the relationship between the two Republicans was evident
>>on Tuesday, when Romney made a hastily arranged trip to the accident
>>site after Amorello skipped an emergency meeting of various state
>>agencies in the governor's Statehouse office to discuss the accident.
>>
>>Video of the scene showed the normally mild-mannered Romney
>>upbraiding Amorello, who appeared taken aback the viciousness of the
>>criticism.
>>
>>"If you will, the mountain went to Mohammed," the governor said
>>later. "I expressed my disappointment that he had not been able to
>>meet together with all those agencies."
>>
>>Amorello would later say that he respected both Romney and Reilly,
>>who also urged him to step aside, but the safety of the tunnels was
>>his immediate priority. "The chairman," as he likes to be called,
>>said he had no intention of stepping aside "at this time."
>>
>>Politics has been intertwined with the Big Dig since its inception in
>>the 1980s, when then-House Speaker Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill and then-
>>U.S. Rep. Joseph Moakley helped secure funding for the project.
>>
>>During the past six years, however, personality clashes have
>>threatened to overshadow questions about project oversight and safety.
>>
>>Swift fired Levy and Mihos in February 2002 after the two Central
>>Artery critics refused to institute a toll increase she requested.
>>The Supreme Judicial Court reinstated them in May 2002.
>>
>>In August 2002, the Legislature sought to bolster the acting
>>governor's position by expanding the board. Swift quickly added two
>>loyalists.
>>
>>Two years later, her successor, Romney, sought to create a bipartisan
>>commission that would appoint a special prosecutor to handle cost-
>>recovery efforts amid allegations of shoddy workmanship and excessive
>>charges. Instead, the Democratic-controlled Legislature gave
>>oversight to fellow Democrat Reilly, the state's chief law
>>enforcement officer.
>>
>>In March, Reilly announced he was seeking a $108 million refund from
>>project manager Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff. Romney labeled it "too
>>little and too late."
>>
>>The most recent political intervention came on June 30, when the
>>Legislature voted to extend Levy's term so Romney could not appoint
>>his former consumer affairs director, Beth Lindstrom, to the Turnpike
>>board.
>>
>>Sen. Dianne Wilkerson, D-Boston, who sponsored the budget amendment,
>>said it was necessary to maintain continuity in project oversight.
>>
>>Romney vetoed the legislation over the weekend, but some lawmakers
>>pledged to override him this week. The governor said Tuesday he hoped
>>the ceiling collapse changed minds.
>>
>>"There's been an effort on some people to try and insulate the
>>Turnpike Authority from the management of the Executive Branch,"
>>Romney said during a Statehouse news conference. "I hope that that
>>effort has come to an end today."
>>
>>* * *
>>
>>3.  Problems have long plagued massive Big Dig highway project
>>
>>http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/07/11/
>>problems_have_long_plagued_massive_big_dig_highway_project/?page=full
>>By Brooke Donald, Associated Press Writer  |  July 11, 2006
>>
>>BOSTON --Replacing the city's elevated expressway with a tunnel was a
>>technical marvel, considered the equivalent of changing a tire while
>>a car continued down the highway at 60 mph.
>>
>>But problems from flooding and icing to delays and cost-overruns have
>>repeatedly tarnished the massive highway project -- the nation's
>>costliest that eventually rose to a price tag of more than $14.5
>>billion.
>>
>>Then on Monday night, its image and integrity were shook once again
>>when a woman was crushed to death in her car by a 3-ton ceiling panel
>>while she and her husband drove to the airport to pick up vacationing
>>relatives.
>>
>>While some drivers called the collapse a "freak accident," others
>>said it was a horrific reminder of years of bad events surrounding
>>the Big Dig, and wondered whether they could trust the government to
>>fix the problems.
>>
>>"To think that a slab can fall on you while you're driving through a
>>tunnel is not a good thought, it's not inspiring," said Dominic
>>DeRiso, 21, of Boston, who said he frequently uses the project's maze
>>of tunnels, bridges and roadways, especially when heading to Logan
>>International Airport.
>>
>>"From the leaks to now this," he added, "it seems as though there was
>>a lot of carelessness in the planning."
>>
>>Gov. Mitt Romney echoed commuters' concerns, lamenting that drivers
>>shouldn't have to cross their fingers as they traveled around the
>>notoriously traffic-clogged roads. He moved to oust Massachusetts
>>Turnpike Chairman Matt Amorello, long a target of his wrath over
>>construction problems and cost overruns.
>>
>>"Through his failures, Matt Amorello has undermined public confidence
>>in the safety of the Big Dig tunnels," Romney said.
>>
>>In Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood, where the victim of the
>>collapse, Milena Del Valle, 38, lived with her husband, family
>>members were shocked and angry.
>>
>>Iobel Navarro, a cousin of Del Valle's husband, said he was
>>frustrated that despite billions of dollars spent on the Big Dig, it
>>apparently isn't safe.
>>
>>"You should feel good about where you live and about how your money
>>is being spent on projects," he said. "How could something like this
>>happen? It's unbelievable after so much money and time went into this
>>project. Highways shouldn't fall down."
>>
>>Formally called the Central Artery/Third Harbor Tunnel project, the
>>Big Dig buried Interstate 93 beneath downtown and connected the
>>Massachusetts Turnpike to Logan with a third tunnel beneath Boston
>>Harbor.
>>
>>It was hailed for transforming Boston's downtown and unclogging one
>>of the most notorious bottlenecks in the country's interstate highway
>>system. According to a study released earlier this year that was
>>funded by the Turnpike Authority, the drive through the center of
>>Boston is almost seven times faster than it was before the Big Dig,
>>taking now just under 3 minutes to travel through the city's center.
>>
>>But the project, whose heavy construction work began in 1991, has
>>been hammered because of long delays, structural problems, criminal
>>investigations and ballooning costs that grew from $2.6 billion to
>>$14.6 billion.
>>
>>In 2004, a wall panel sprung an eight-inch hole, flooding the
>>northbound Interstate 93 tunnel and causing a 10-mile backup. That
>>led to the discovery of 169 wall panels in need of some repairs.
>>
>>Separately, inspectors also found about 1,716 spots in the Big Dig
>>tunnels, where water seeped and dripped from the juncture of tunnel
>>roofs and walls. Officials have said the leaks pose no threat to the
>>safety of people driving through the tunnels.
>>
>>Legal issues also are pending. Lawyers from the Attorney General's
>>office have been working to recover money from some of the
>>contractors that worked on the Big Dig.
>>
>>Also, in May, prosecutors charged six current and former employees of
>>a concrete supplier with fraud for allegedly concealing that some
>>concrete delivered to the Big Dig was not freshly mixed. State and
>>federal officials said that long-term maintenance, not immediate
>>safety, was the likely impact.
>>
>>Kenneth Mead, the former inspector general for the U.S. Department of
>>Transportation who investigated cost overruns and other Big Dig
>>problems over the years, stressed that the project has been plagued
>>by quality control issues from the beginning.
>>
>>"I look askance when people say this is not a safety issue," he said
>>in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.
>>
>>Mead, now an attorney with a Washington law firm, said he's confident
>>the project has structural integrity. But he warned that the full
>>extent of quality control issues remains a wild card.
>>
>>"A three-ton 20 by 40 (foot) slab is not supposed to fall from the
>>ceiling," he said. "That does suggest to me strongly that there are
>>quality control issues."
>>
>>Officials were quick to pinpoint the problem on a steel tieback that
>>held a 40-foot ceiling section over Interstate 90 eastbound gave way,
>>causing a 3-ton slab to collapse, which in turn dragged down three
>>other slabs.
>>
>>The tunnel was closed indefinitely as crews worked to remove about 30
>>ceiling slabs in a 200-foot section where the collapse occurred.
>>
>>But even as officials mobilized, some drivers said they would still
>>use the Big Dig tunnels because they've become a lifeline for getting
>>through the city.
>>
>>"I think I will be more thoughtful when traveling through, but you
>>can't really change your route around that area. I can't imagine
>>finding another way," said Liz Morrison, 24, of Boston.
>>
>>"This is a tragic, but freak accident," said cab driver Rich Oliver,
>>35, who goes through the tunnels several times a day bringing
>>travelers to the airport. "Does it concern me? Sure. But they will
>>fix it. They have to."
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>>
>
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