BOSTON - As an alarming picture of widespread safety failures in Big Dig tunnels developed, the Legislature last night backed Gov. Mitt Romney's bid to wrest control of tunnel inspections from the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.
The Democratic-controlled Legislature approved emergency legislation filed by the Republican governor to get $20 million to hire an independent company for a "stem to stern" examination of all of the Central Artery tunnels, including the Interstate 90 connector tunnel where a 38-year-old Boston woman was killed Monday night when tons of ceiling concrete crushed the car she was in.
Romney was expected to sign the bill today, then meet with representatives from the Massachusetts Highway Department, the Federal Highway Administration and the Turnpike Authority for a briefing on the status of the tunnel inspection, Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said.
The action comes as the Turnpike Authority yesterday revealed there are at least 242 other points where bolts are separating from the tunnel's ceiling.
Sen. Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, said he couldn't be sure the tunnels were safe based on inspections by the Turnpike Authority, which oversees the tunnels.
"We have seen years of inspections undertaken by Turnpike Authority, and they've culminated in an unsafe situation, a tunnel (ceiling) collapse and (faulty) tiles in other locations where motorists could be in the same situation."
Turnpike Authority Chairman Matthew Amorello of Wenham told reporters he would accept independent inspections, although he rebuffed requests that he step aside. Earlier in the day, Senate President Robert Travaglini and House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi urged him to accept a lesser role as an authority board member.
"I have taken an oath of office to serve as chairman for
the Turnpike Authority until July 2007," said Amorello, a former Republican
state senator appointed to the job in 2002 by acting Gov. Jane Swift.
On Monday, a 3-ton ceiling tile fell at the entrance to the Ted Williams Tunnel,
which motorists use to get to Logan International Airport. Killed was 38-year-old
Jamaica Plain resident Milena Del Valle, who was a passenger in a car driven
by her 46-year-old husband, Angel, who escaped with minor injuries. They were
on their way to the airport at 11 p.m. to pick up relatives arriving from Puerto
Rico.
Amorello said his inspectors are looking into the failure of the ceiling panels and trying to determine the extent of the problem.
During a news conference, Michael Lewis, director of the Big Dig project, said not only had 50 bolt assemblies come loose in the eastbound section of the tunnel where Del Valle was killed, but there were 68 suspect assemblies in the westbound section, 45 in the section carrying carpool traffic and 79 suspect assemblies in ramps connecting Interstate 90 with Interstate 93. A day earlier, Lewis had only cited 60 potential trouble spots.
A federal review of the ceiling panels - and the time it will take to fix any in need of repair - could push back any opening of the road at least several days and maybe longer, according to Lewis.
"It will be reopened in segments, not all at once," he said. "It could be weeks," he said.
But the immediate focus is on ousting Amorello.
Senate Majority Leader Fred Berry, D-Peabody, said Amorello no longer has the credibility to lead the authority.
"We need to get to the truth, and as long as he's there
he'll always be the whipping boy," Berry said.
Rep. Harriett Stanley, D-West Newbury, said Amorello should step aside. She
said Amorello has preferred ceremonies to public safety.
Lawmakers also are looking beyond Amorello toward Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, the company hired to oversee the Big Dig. They want Bechtel to be held responsible for design failures in the $15 billion Central Artery Project.
Tarr said Bechtel could be to blame for the death.
"They bear a lot of the culpability here," Tarr said.
The Turnpike Authority is an independent state authority established by the Legislature in 1952 outside the direct control of the executive branch.