60 bad fixtures found in ceiling

Inspectors have found at least 60 faulty bolt fixtures that supported the ceiling of the Interstate 90 connector tunnel in the same section where concrete ceiling panels fell and crushed Milena Del Valle, state officials said yesterday.

Though the tunnel passed at least one previous safety inspection, the faulty bolt fixtures -- which Turnpike Authority officials yesterday called ``suspect" and ``compromised" -- went unnoticed until the 38-year-old's death Monday night spurred an unprecedented criminal investigation of the Big Dig's safety.

State officials were uncertain whether the faulty bolt fixtures found in the approximately 50 ceiling panels along 200 feet of the eastbound connector tunnel might have led to similar failures. The 60 potentially dangerous bolt fixtures make up about 10 percent of all bolt fixtures in that section.

Turnpike officials said there are probably more compromised bolt fixtures in the ceilings above the westbound and high-occupancy vehicle lanes of the connector tunnel.

Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly said yesterday that Big Dig construction managers and contractors have known for at least seven years about problems with the bolt fixtures. Tests conducted in 1999, four years before the connector tunnel opened, showed that the ceiling bolts had a tendency to come loose. But it is not clear whether the problem was addressed, said Reilly, who is considering manslaughter charges in the case.

Matthew J. Amorello -- chairman and chief executive officer of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, which operates the tunnels -- said his investigators are looking through records to determine whether any safety changes in the bolt fixtures were completed.

Reilly said his investigators have found that the bolts that once anchored the 2 1/2- to 3-ton ceiling panels that fell and killed Del Valle slipped out cleanly as the panels plummeted onto the car her husband was driving to Logan International Airport, suggesting the high-strength epoxy glue used to secure the bolts to the tunnel ceiling had failed to bond properly.

With public confidence in the Big Dig's safety shaken after its latest and most severe crisis, Amorello also announced a sweeping safety inspection of Boston's entire metropolitan highway system inside Route 128, including the Ted Williams, Callahan, Sumner, Thomas P. ``Tip" O'Neill Jr., and I-90 tunnels and the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge.

``It will be my responsibility to ensure the safety of these tunnels and to ensure that this event never happens again," said Amorello, who repeated yesterday that he does not plan to resign, as Reilly, Governor Mitt Romney, and some legislators have urged. ``I can't go back and reconstruct something that was built in 1995 or 1999, but I will take every step necessary to ensure that this event doesn't happen again."

The I-90 connector tunnel will remain closed indefinitely until the Turnpike Authority and the Federal Highway Administration certify that it is safe for motorists. As a precaution, crews continued yesterday to remove all 50 ceiling panels from the section where Del Valle was killed.

Turnpike officials said the ceiling panels formed part of a ventilation system that keeps tunnel air fresh. Yesterday, Amorello raised the possibility that the panels would not be replaced if engineers determine that the ventilation system would work without them.

At the accident scene yesterday, work crews in hard hats mingled with federal and state investigators wearing badges and suits, who examined and catalogued every part of the tunnel removed.

In addition to Reilly's office, US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan's office and Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley's office are all investigating.

The ceiling bolt fixtures have become a prime focus of the probe.

Each panel was secured by eight bolts. The bolt ends were coated with epoxy and inserted into drilled holes in the ceiling. This created a second, lower ceiling, that formed the ventilation passageway.

If some bolts failed, the others were designed to hold the panels up, said Turnpike Authority officials.

Michael P. Lewis, the state's Big Dig project manager, said visual inspections indicated that the faulty bolt fixtures found so far appear ``to have pulled out" of their drill holes and were ``potentially problematic."

Reilly said preliminary evidence indicated the bolts-and-epoxy system failed when the concrete slabs flattened Del Valle's car.

``This was a clean break. This was a clean failure of that mechanism in place right there," he said. ``Now whether it's the epoxy . . . whether it's the bolts, whether it's the design, I can't tell you that right now, but we are looking at all of it."

Inspectors have found no bolt-and-epoxy problems in the Ted Williams Tunnel, the only other Big Dig section where that technique is extensively used.

In other Big Dig tunnels, ceiling panels are secured to metal bars embedded in concrete and do not use the bolts-and-epoxy system. Turnpike Authority officials have not fully explained why bolts and epoxy were used in the I-90 connector and Ted Williams tunnels.

``They're all accepted systems; something went wrong here, and we just don't know what that is yet," said Lewis.

John Christian, an engineer who has previously consulted for the Big Dig and is assisting the Turnpike Authority with its investigation, said the bolts-and-epoxy system has been used in numerous construction projects around the country. He said the Big Dig investigation could lead to national reforms.

``How are you going to fix this, wherever it needs to be fixed, and frankly how are you going to tell people in other parts of the country if this turns out to be some sort of generic problem?" he said. ``It's conceivable that we may find that there is some generic flaw in the systems that are used in designing these panels."

The investigation has expanded far beyond the Turnpike Authority. Reilly has subpoenaed records as part of a grand jury investigation from lead Big Dig contractor Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, Modern Continental Corp., which did the I-90 connector work, and Gannett Fleming Inc., the design firm.

Yesterday morning, three top Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff representatives declined comment after emerging from a 30-minute meeting in Reilly's office.

``I made very clear to them the seriousness of the situation," Reilly said. ``They are fully aware that this is a criminal investigation and we are absolutely determined to get to the bottom of this."

The attorney general also said that settlement talks with Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff on the state's claim to $108 million refund for shoddy work and delays on the $14.6 billion Big Dig have been suspended during the probe.

A Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff spokesman said, ``We will cooperate fully with investigators, but given they are just beginning to gather facts it would be inappropriate to comment further."

Reilly said evidence indicated that Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff engineers and other contractors on the project were aware of problems with the bolts-and-epoxy system at least seven years ago through Big Dig field reports from fall 1999, when the bolt fixtures were being installed.

He said about five bolts failed, but would not elaborate further on what the field reports showed.

``It was not only identified, but there was a plan to address that problem, and what we're trying to determine right now -- was that plan implemented?" Reilly said at a press conference. ``Obviously we know that in one location, there was a massive failure which led to a death on Monday night."

While Reilly's investigators focus on possible manslaughter charges, FBI agents gathered evidence for Sullivan, who is focusing on whether there was any fraud or corruption.

Kenneth W. Kaiser, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Boston office, said the investigation into the tunnel collapse is now ``my highest priority in the office."

Kaiser said that it was premature to say what caused the collapse and that investigators were still gathering evidence and analyzing it. ``The FBI is taking a look at any criminal violations of federal law, including fraud against the government and public corruption," he said.

Sullivan said agents will turn over any evidence to Reilly that would help his criminal inquiry.

Meanwhile, the Del Valle family yesterday mourned their loss. A memorial fund in Milena Del Valle's name has been established at Citizens Bank, with proceeds to go to her church, the Hispanic Community Church of Boston.

No plans had been made to file a lawsuit, and the family had not hired a lawyer, said Duane Nelson, Del Valle's brother-in-law.

Shelley Murphy and David Abel of the Globe staff contributed to this report.

Correction: Because of a reporting error, a Page One story yesterday misstated the recipient of donations to a memorial fund for a Jamaica Plain woman killed in the Big Dig tunnel ceiling collapse Monday night. The account at Citizens Bank has been set up for the family of Milena Del Valle in the name of her church, Hispanic Community Church of Boston.