Central Artery Segment Design May Have Led to Cost Overrun
Massachusetts inspector General Gregory W. Sullivan says that deficient design work by Central Artery/Tunnel project consultant Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff may have resulted in at least $65 million in claims due to ground movement or "grout heave" during a soil stabilization job. His report charges that cost recovery efforts were not taken against B/PB, which shifted financial responsibility to the state.
B/PB was hired in 1985 to manage CA/T design, construction and administration. By 2005 it will have received $122 million for its services. Work on the $378-million project at issue, part of Interstate 93 that passes near South Station and under a transit tunnel, started in 1995 and now is wrapping up. Change orders have driven costs to about $490 million. Click here to view image