BOSTON (AP) – Gov. Mitt Romney moved Thursday to seize control over inspections in the tunnel system where a woman was crushed by falling ceiling panels, as the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority revealed there are at least 242 other points where bolts are separating from the tunnel roof.
Emergency legislation filed by the Republican governor, passed by the Legislature Thursday night, would give Romney control over inspections in the tunnels and the ultimate say on when they reopen, instead of Turnpike Authority Chairman Matthew Amorello.
The move was meant to restore public trust in the city’s highway system by ensuring an independent assessment of the safety of the roads, tunnels and bridges.
“When it comes to an issue of inspecting the tunnel system, to have the person who’s been responsible for it for the last several years say, I’m going to inspect it’ and tell us, It’s now safe,’ that’s not enough,” the governor said at a Statehouse news conference. “The public wants to see an independent inspection effort.”
Romney was expected to sign the bill Friday morning, 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 inspection, Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said.
Amorello later told reporters he would accept independent inspections, although he rebuffed requests that he step aside – even after Senate President Robert Travaglini and House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi urged him to accept a lesser role solely as an authority board member.
“No,” Amorello said repeatedly, when he was asked if he planned to resign or accept a diminished role. “I have taken an oath of office to serve as chairman for the Turnpike Authority until July 2007.”
Travaglini and DiMasi joined the growing number of leaders calling for a new role for Amorello, who has thus far ignored demands from the governor to step down.
“I agree that he should step aside,” DiMasi said. Travaglini stopped short of calling for Amorello’s resignation but said he should give “serious consideration” to a proposal for him to remain involved solely as a member of the Turnpike Board.
The eastbound tunnel, a main route to Boston’s Logan International Airport, has been closed since Monday night when 12 tons of concrete crushed the car carrying Milena Del Valle and her husband, Angel Del Valle, 46. He escaped with minor injuries.
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, as well as 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 re-opened in segments, not all at once,” he said. “It could be weeks.”
Romney maintains Amorello has failed as leader of the authority that oversees the massive $14.6 billion project, the most expensive highway project in U.S. history. It has been plagued by leaks, falling concrete and other problems linked to faulty construction and oversight. The state is seeking millions in compensation from its overseers.
Until this week, the problems had never been fatal for motorists.
Since the accident, inspectors probing the tunnel have found signs the problems with the anchor bolts and ceiling panels, which provided a false ceiling to assist in ventilation, could be widespread.
Modern Continental, which built the tunnels in question, and Bechtel/Parsons-Brinckerhoff, which managed the project, were warned of such problems in 1999, when five initial bolts came out during tests. But it remained unclear Thursday what, if anything, was done to resolve those problems. The companies have said only that they are cooperating with the investigation.
Experts have questioned whether the 3-ton ceiling panels needed to be so heavy. As the tunnel continues to undergo inspection, authorities are considering whether it would be feasible to remove the ceiling panels and leaving the large fans above them exposed indefinitely.
The Massachusetts congressional delegation on Thursday signed a letter asking the National Transportation Safety Board to launch a full-scale probe into the problem-plagued Big Dig, saying it is one of the few agencies without any apparent conflicts of interest to the project.
“The most important issue here is safety,” said Rep. Michael Capuano, D-Mass., who organized the joint letter signed by the state’s 12 members of Congress. “We want to make sure that we got what we paid for and the tunnel is safe.”
Amorello said NTSB was on scene Wednesday and may be the right agency to bring in. “Maybe their presence needs to be enlarged,” he said.
Romney’s legislation would give the executive branch the authority to oversee the inspection of the failed ceiling system in the tunnel. The bill also directs the executive branch to carry out a “stem to stern” safety audit of the Big Dig project. Romney, a Republican considering a run for president in 2008, is asking for $20 million to cover the cost. The inspection would be overseen by Transportation Secretary John Cogliano.
His legislation got swift support from Democrats, who control the Legislature.
“We feel that a review of the safety and integrity of this entire project needs to be done immediately and we need to have some confidence in the ability of independent groups, agencies and experts to make the decision that the construction is sound and safe for all of us,” said DiMasi, who added lawmakers would consider it Thursday.
Romney has also started legal proceedings to remove the Turnpike chairman. The powerful Boston law firm WilmerHale – the entity resulting from the merger of Hale & Dorr of Boston and Wilmer Cutler & Pickering of Washington – has agreed to represent the state on a pro bono basis in Romney’s effort to remove Amorello.
The state will be represented by two partners and experienced litigators at the firm, John Fabiano and Daniel Halston. Fabiano recently represented the Boston Red Sox in a dispute over ownership of the ball used to complete the final out in the team’s 2004 World Series victory. Halston is a former assistant Massachusetts attorney general who, like Fabiano, is experienced in securities work.
The governor has accused Amorello of being “secretive” and of resisting oversight, as well as refusing the share information with the Turnpike board, which itself has been the subject of a battle for political control between Romney and the Democratic-controlled Legislature.
The Turnpike Authority is an independent state authority created by the Legislature in 1952 outside the direct control of the executive branch, much like the Massachusetts Port Authority, which oversees the airport operation. Romney cannot simply fire Amorello like he could fire the head of other state agencies.
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Associated Press Writers Steve LeBlanc and Brooke Donald contributed to this report.
AP-ES-07-13-06 2048EDT
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