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Joanne Ray

Big Dig Clash Costs $8.3 Million
June 16, 2008

Boston, MA: According to an article in The Boston Globe, a dispute between the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and the Massachusetts Port Authority over cracks and leaks in Big Dig construction has cost taxpayers $8.3 million. The Turnpike Authority and Massport have been arguing for years over the quality of a 3/4-mile section of the Ted Williams Tunnel and a nearby elevated ramp leading to Logan International Airport. Massport, who runs the airport, is supposed to take control of the property but has refused to pay the Turnpike for it, contending that the work was not up to standards. The state treasurer ended up making Massport's payments to the Turnpike Authority, a process that cost taxpayers an extra $8.3 million in borrowing costs. "I don't blame the Port Authority for not wanting to accept damaged goods," Auditor Joe DeNucci said. "If the roadways were built correctly, this wouldn't be a problem. It wouldn't have been a problem at all." DeNucci called the latest findings typical of the Big Dig, the subject of 22 audits by his office. "We were disclosing problems with the roads leading out of the Ted Williams tunnels way back, and here we are a decade later and it's the same old story," he said. Pike officials argue that the value of unfinished work is much lower than the amount that Massport has withheld and that it has been unfairly blamed for the credit problems that forced Massport to borrow money through the state. The Legislature required Massport to pay $365 million to help cover the cost of the Big Dig roads and ramps that serve the airport. Massport paid off the first $160 million on time. The state Treasury became involved after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, when Massport could not get a loan without the Commonwealth's backing. The state then became responsible for Massport's Big Dig debt and made payments to the Turnpike Authority - relying on Massport to repay the money. But beginning in 2002, Massport delayed and withheld payments to the state because of a dispute about how much work was left to be completed. As delays continued, state Treasurer Timothy Cahill became increasingly frustrated. "Due to a disagreement between Massport and the Central Artery Project over a punch list, Massport still has not reimbursed the Commonwealth, which remains out $50 million," Cahill wrote in an Aug. 7, 2006, letter to Governor Mitt Romney. Once DeNucci's audit began in 2007, Massport made two large payments totaling $36.6 million, leaving the final $12.4 million unpaid out of the original debt. In a statement, a Turnpike Authority spokesman said the agency disagreed with the premise of the audit because the authority was not responsible for Massport's inability to borrow money after 9/11, nor the state's decision to back the loan.

Posted by Joanne Ray on June 16, 2008 | Comments (0)