STATE AND federal attorneys have reached a deal to settle a lawsuit against contractors involved in the Big Dig. And at first glance, it might seem as though the defendants got off easy. The agreement is accompanied by a statement of fact that makes a damning case against Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, the consortium that oversaw the project - so damning that the $458 million payment specified in the agreement may look inadequate. But a trial would have been fraught with uncertainty and delay. Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley and US Attorney Michael Sullivan were right to resolve the issue and secure the money that will help to keep the Central Artery and Logan Airport connector tunnels safe.
In agreeing to the statement of fact, Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff acknowledged letting the construction firm Modern Continental get away with defective work in both tunnels. Negligence in the tunnel connecting the airport to the Massachusetts Turnpike took the life of Jamaica Plain resident Milena Del Valle in 2006. Her survivors have a lawsuit pending. The statement of fact bolsters the family's case. Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff would be wise to make a generous settlement there, too.
From its inception in the 1980s, the Central Artery project was beset by delays, engineering difficulties, and cost overruns. But its troubled history does not excuse the negligent work by the consortium as the project was being built. The companies were hired to make sure that contractors did their work with uniform care, and they failed.
The Central Artery tunnel is beset by leaks and will require examination and repairs into the indefinite future. Coakley and Sullivan have wisely segregated $414.9 million into a special fund, to be administered by the state treasurer, the attorney general, and the federal highway administrator. The state can draw on it for special repairs, but the money will not be diverted to ordinary state expenses, as often happens to funds in reserve accounts. Coakley said in a telephone interview that she wanted to make sure there'll be no disaster in the tunnel on the scale of the bridge collapse in Minneapolis, and this fund is just what is needed to keep the tunnels safe.
Just in case, however, another part of the agreement provides a 10-year warranty on the project. In the case of a catastrophic event (one causing more than $50 million in damage), the consortium agrees to waive the statue of limitations and the issue would be settled by arbitration. That shouldn't happen, given careful maintenance, but its inclusion in the settlement shows the lack of trust caused by shoddy work on what should have been the consortium's signature project.
Correction: An editorial in yesterday's Globe gave an inaccurate account of who will oversee $414.9 million from the Central Artery settlement. The money will be under the control of the state secretary of transportation and the federal highway administrator. The state attorney general will not have a role.
