Big Dig Chief Resigns

Mass. Turnpike Chair Matthew Amorello Under Fire Since Tunnel Collapse

(AP)  "He is secretive and resists oversight by his own board, and refuses to share information," Romney said recently. "People should not have to drive through the Turnpike tunnels with their fingers crossed."

Amorello resisted stepping down, saying it was important to get to the bottom of why the ceiling panels fell.

"All of our energies are to ensure that nothing like that ever happens again," he said. "It's a commitment I made to the family. It's a commitment I made to the people of Massachusetts."

Amorello's job involves overseeing the 138-mile Mass Pike, which stretches from Stockbridge to Boston's Logan Airport, but his primary responsibility has been the Big Dig.

The most expensive highway project in U.S. history, the Big Dig buried the old elevated Central Artery under Boston and linked Interstate 90 to the airport. It took more than a decade to complete because of delays and cost overruns and has been plagued by leaks, falling debris and problems blamed on faulty construction. In May, six current and former employees of a concrete supplier were charged with fraud for allegedly concealing that some concrete delivered to the Big Dig was not freshly mixed.

The ceiling collapse in a connector tunnel that routes traffic toward the airport led to the closing of nearby tunnels while engineers investigate the cause and devise fixes.

The focus of the inspections has been on epoxy-bolt fasteners that anchored the ceiling panels in some tunnels. Hundreds of them have failed "pull tests" in the past two weeks. State and federal prosecutors are now investigating whether criminal charges are warranted.

Jeffrey Denner, who represents the husband of Milena Del Valle, the woman killed in the collapse, called Amorello "a very decent man in a very difficult situation."

"I think he had little choice (but to resign) given the fact that with all the damaging disclosures that have been made over the past week or so, it all happened on his watch, and I think he has to take responsibility for it," Denner said. He plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit.

Turnpike board member John Moscardelli said Amorello told him he agonized over the decision.

"He just felt that it was the right thing to do for the public, for the Turnpike Authority, and of course, for him and his family," Moscardelli said.

"I feel very, very badly for him," Moscardelli said. "I know how hard he worked."