Big Dig Contractors To Pay More Than $450M

Contractors who worked on the long-troubled Big Dig highway project have agreed to pay more than $450 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the state over a fatal tunnel ceiling collapse and to cover the costs of leaks and design flaws.

Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, the consortium that oversaw design and construction of the nation's costliest public works project, has agreed to pay $407 million, while several smaller companies will pay about $51 million collectively, U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan said in announcing the deal.

"Massachusetts Highway and the citizens of Massachusetts entrusted Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff to act as their eyes and ears on the Central Artery Project," Sullivan said. "They grossly failed to meet their obligations and responsibilities to the citizens of Massachusetts and the United States."

Under the agreement, Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff will not face criminal charges for the Interstate 90 tunnel ceiling collapse that killed Milena Del Valle, 39, of Boston. She was crushed by 26 tons of concrete as she and her husband drove to Logan International Airport in July 2006.

The settlement does not have a direct effect on a separate lawsuit filed by Del Valle's family.

The deal also does not bar the consortium from receiving future government contracts.

Under the deal, if there's a "catastrophic event" that costs more than $50 million to repair, the federal and state governments can sue again, reports CBS News Justice Department producer Stephanie Lambidakis. Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff's liability would be capped at $100 million.

Sullivan said Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, which was paid more than $2 billion to manage the project over 20 years, made $150 million in profits.

"We believe that today's global agreement is the best possible resolution. I do not say perfect, but the best possible resolution at this time," Attorney General Martha Coakley said.

Powers Fasteners Inc., a Brewster, N.Y. company that provided the epoxy blamed for the ceiling collapse, remains the only company that has been criminally charged. The company, which has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, has denied responsibility for the tunnel collapse.

If convicted, Powers faces a fine of $1,000 - the maximum penalty for a company charged with manslaughter in Massachusetts - and could be banned from getting public contracts in Massachusetts. No individuals were indicted, but prosecutors did not rule out future indictments against individuals.

Powers Fasteners Inc. also is the only one out of 15 companies and agencies that have reached a settlement with the Del Valle family, having agreed to pay $6 million.

Max Stern, the company's lawyer in the criminal case, criticized the decision by prosecutors to allow Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, a multi-billion-dollar consortium, to avoid criminal charges while pursuing charges against Powers, a smaller, family-owned business.

"Obviously, this is out of Powers' price range," Stern said of the $407 million settlement.

"The sheer size of this settlement underlines what we think is the undeniable fact that Bechtel bears the real responsibility for this accident. After all, Bechtel was responsible for the design, it was responsible for the construction and it was responsible for the inspection of the tunnel, and yet, it escapes all criminal charges."

Coakley said the "culpability of Bechtel and Parsons was different in kind than the actions and omissions of Powers." She also said Bechtel and Parsons reacted differently than Powers when told there was enough evidence to indict them all.

"Bechtel and Parsons immediately, and I would argue in a very sincere and eager effort, said 'What can we do?' " she said.

"Their willingness to acknowledge certain responsibility and take on what has ended in today's agreement, I believe is in the best interest of the Commonwealth," she said.

Coakley said, given the maximum penalty in a criminal indictment, it made sense to pursue an agreement with Bechtel and Parsons.

"The amount of money that has been paid and will be paid over the next several months far outweighs when we could have accomplished, certainly in a criminal indictment and perhaps even in a complicated ... civil matter," she said.

The next two largest contractors behind Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff - Modern Continental Construction Co. and Gannett Fleming Inc. - were not part of the settlement.

Del Valle's death sparked a flurry of finger-pointing and investigations.

The National Transportation Safety Board found that the wrong type of epoxy was used to hold up concrete ceiling panels that collapsed and fell on Del Valle's car. The NTSB concluded the collapse could have been avoided if designers and construction crews had considered that the epoxy holding support anchors for the panels could slowly pull away over time.

Dec. 31 officially marked the end of the joint venture that teamed Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff with the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority to bury the old elevated Central Artery that ran through the heart of Boston with a series of tunnels, ramps and bridges.

The $14.79 billion Big Dig, which had an initial price tag of $2.6 billion, has been plagued by problems and cost overruns throughout the two decades it took to design and build.