Patrick praises $458M ‘Big Dig’ settlement

BOSTON – The companies overseeing the “Big Dig” in Boston have agreed to pay $458 million to avoid criminal charges in the fatal tunnel collapse a year and a half ago and resolve state and federal probes of the project’s safety and expense.
About $398 million will be paid by the project managers, Bechtel Group Inc. and Parsons Brinkerhoff Inc., U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan and Mass. Attorney General Martha Coakley said yesterday in a joint announcement. The remainder will be paid by 24 contractors.
“Massachusetts Highway and the citizens of Massachusetts entrusted Bechtel-Parsons Brinckerhoff to act as their eyes and ears on the central artery project,” Sullivan told a news conference in Boston, according to Bloomberg News. “They grossly failed to meet their obligations and responsibilities for the citizens of Massachusetts.”
Bechtel-Parsons may face additional fees under the agreement if “further catastrophes” result in damages of more than $50 million, Sullivan said.
Most of the money from the settlement will go toward long-term repairs on the central artery project.
“I commend the attorney general for reaching this settlement on behalf of the people of the commonwealth,” Gov. Deval L. Patrick said in a statement.
“The settlement provides funds to repair and maintain the Big Dig highways and tunnels, and to conduct what I expect will be the most robust and comprehensive inspection and testing program in the country. These contractors owe us nothing less.”
When work began in 1991, the project was expected to cost $5 billion. Expenses eventually mounted to $14.8 billion, making it the most expensive public works project in U.S. history.
The companies and the state still face possible penalties in the civil lawsuit filed by the family of Milena Del Valle, the woman killed in the tunnel collapse.