Big Dig costs climb another $110 million

The cost of construction and administration of the Big Dig has gone up almost $110 million, but that increase is expected to be offset by money recovered from contractors for mistakes made on the job, the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority said yesterday.

The official price tag on the massive highway and tunnel project remains $14.625 billion, said Jon Carlisle , spokesman for the authority, which manages the Big Dig.

Last year, former attorney general Thomas F. Reilly and Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, the project's largest contractor, were close to a deal under which Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff was to have paid about $85 million to the state to settle claims.

Those negotiations were put on hold, however, after federal officials voiced concerns. On July 10, the collapse of a ceiling in the I-90 Connector tunnel, killing Milena Del Valle , pushed the negotiations farther down on the agenda.

"While we are still working to finalize these cost increases, they are in the neighborhood of $109 million," Carlisle said in a statement. "We anticipate those increases will be offset by cost recoveries and other credits before the project books are closed."

Carlisle declined to comment further on the cost increase, which was first reported by WBZ-TV.

The Turnpike Authority has made new claims against other contractors, including Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, to recover costs caused by the tunnel ceiling collapse, which occurred when bolts holding up 2,600-pound concrete panels slipped.

The state has budgeted $54 million to pay for extensive repairs throughout the I-90 Connector tunnel and ramps, and to pay for associated costs, such as for police to direct traffic around tunnel closures while repairs were made.

Attorney General Martha Coakley is trying to recover payments for mistakes made during design and construction of the Big Dig. Meanwhile, state and federal investigators are sifting through the evidence for possible criminal indictments.

Carlisle said Turnpike Authority officials were working with their counterparts in Governor Deval Patrick's administration "to update the project cost estimates."

The project has a long history of escalating costs. First estimated to cost about $2 billion, the project's cost has been revised upward ever since the 1980s. Much of the cost increase has been attributed to inflation, as the project's schedule has been stretched long past its earlier completion date of 2000.