Poll suggests little confidence in tunnel safety

The public primarily blames contractors for the fatal ceiling collapse in a Big Dig tunnel, but is deeply skeptical that anyone will be prosecuted, according to a new Boston Globe poll that indicates widespread cynicism and safety concerns about the $14.6 billion project.

Half of those surveyed said they hold the Big Dig's private contractors, rather than the state, responsible for the July 10 accident, which killed 38-year-old Milena Del Valle of Jamaica Plain as she drove with her husband to the airport. But two-thirds of respondents said they do not expect anyone to face criminal charges, expressing doubt about Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly's plans for a possible manslaughter case.

A lack of confidence in the safety of the Big Dig, the people who constructed it, and the politicians, state officials, and public-sector managers charged with overseeing it is reflected throughout the poll.

``There's really a deep, deep cynicism about what's going to happen, and it's across the board," said Andrew E. Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, which conducted the poll for the Globe. ``You just have this sense that, `Well, this is the way things are done.' "

The poll of 544 randomly selected Massachusetts adults, taken from July 14 to July 19, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points. It's the first random-sample poll of public opinion in Massachusetts on the Big Dig since the July 10 accident.

The results also offer the first substantive confirmation of the crisis of confidence in the Big Dig that Governor Mitt Romney and other public officials say has resulted from the tragedy.

More than two-thirds of respondents said Big Dig tunnels were ``not very safe" or ``not safe at all." Even the majority of regular Big Dig users said they do not feel safe in them. Ninety-one percent of those surveyed predicted more problems with ceiling panels would be uncovered.

For nearly two decades, Boston-area residents have endured congestion, always-shifting detours, and constant construction -- not to mention a ballooning price tag -- as the Big Dig was built. But the end result was supposed to be worth it: The city was promised smooth traffic flow, quick, painless trips to Logan International Airport, and a new park system meant to be a touchstone of downtown.

But the poll suggests Massachusetts is sharply divided over whether the project should have ever been built -- 46 percent of those surveyed said it was worth it, but 44 percent said it wasn't.

``The promise of the Big Dig was great, but I have some serious questions about some fraud that may have gone on, the overruns, passing the buck, and putting it on the taxpayers' back, and now using shoddy equipment or materials in building the tunnel," said Mike Browne, 56, a writer in Carver. ``The whole idea behind it was worth it; it needed to be done. Then again, the execution of it is another question."

A majority of residents polled said they had not driven in a Big Dig tunnel in the past month, compared with 6 percent who said they had used a tunnel almost daily, 14 percent who said they had once or twice a week, and 28 percent who said they had once or twice in the month.

The tragedy will cause scores of Massachusetts commuters to reconfigure their routes to avoid the tunnels, the poll suggests. Twelve percent of those who had driven in a Big Dig tunnel daily over the past month said they would definitely alter their driving patterns so they no longer have to use the tunnels; another 28 percent of daily drivers said they would try to do so, but would not go too far out of their way.

The Big Dig, the largest public-works project in American history, has always been a crucible of Massachusetts politics -- many local, state, and federal leaders past and present have been intimately involved with it. Romney, who seized control over the safety of the Big Dig after the accident, is faring the best in terms of public perception, with 50 percent of poll respondents approving of his handling of the crisis. Reilly, who is leading the state's criminal investigation of the collapse, fares less well, with 37 percent approving of his actions and 31 percent disapproving.

The official who fares the worst is the Turnpike Authority chairman, Matthew J. Amorello, whom Romney is trying to oust through legal maneuvering; many political leaders have also said he should resign. Sixty-three percent of those surveyed said they disapproved of Amorello's handling of the Big Dig, with 14 percent approving.

In fact, when respondents were asked whom they blamed for the tunnel collapse, more people -- 15 percent -- cited Amorello than any other individual. (Three percent blamed the Turnpike Authority overall, compared with 3 percent who faulted the Legislature, and 2 percent who said Romney.)

One of those surveyed, Emma Blydenburgh, a 38-year-old schoolteacher from Lowell, said she blames the project's contractors the most, but she's doubtful anyone will ever be held liable.

``Part of the problem is you can't just hold one person responsible," she said. ``It's a series of mistakes that are made. It's very difficult to say, `This person is 10 percent responsible or 20 percent responsible.' "

What does Blydenburgh expect will happen with the results of the investigation?

``My guess is it's going to be long and looked at for about a day and a half and that will be that," she said.

There are several distinct investigations into the collapse, including federal, state, and county probes, but the poll asked specifically what would come of Reilly's investigation into possible criminal charges for those found responsible for Del Valle's death.

The poll asked people an open-ended question about whom they blamed for Del Valle's death. Like many of those surveyed, Kristine Gordon-Johnson, a 39-year-old psychotherapist and professor at Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester, blames the contractors but expects no one will be prosecuted -- in part, she said, because of the cozy relationships that she sees among government officials and the major companies on the project, which have included Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, the project manager, and Modern Continental, a leading contractor.

``I'm sure there was a lot of behind-the-scenes bargaining and deal-making and all of that," Gordon-Johnson said. ``And I'm sure there will be a good face put on [the investigation] -- `Oh, yes, well, we've investigated and everything's fine.' "

``I hate to be negative," she added, ``because I'm usually not that way."

The results of all the various investigations won't be known for weeks or even months. In the meantime, new problems in the tunnels are cropping up: On Thursday, Romney, citing problems with two bolts in a ceiling panel, abruptly closed the eastbound lanes of the Ted Williams Tunnel -- which connects South Boston to Logan and has been in use by emergency vehicles and buses to the airport. The tunnel reopened Friday.

Nearly all poll respondents said they expect more problems to surface. Gordon-Johnson said that, for now, she will not use Logan because of the tunnels. She's flying out of T.F. Green International Airport in Warwick, R.I., for an upcoming trip to Los Angeles to visit her son.

Not everyone surveyed, though, is worried about the tunnels failing again. George A. Nelson, a 51-year-old computer programmer from Malden, still considers Boston drivers the biggest hazard of all.

``That's 100 times more likely -- or 1,000 times more likely -- to kill me," he said.

Scott Helman can be reached at shelman@globe.com.