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Boston Transit Board Holds Off on Pact With Overseer of Big Dig

Posted on: Friday, 15 July 2005, 18:00 CDT

Jul. 15--The MBTA Board of Directors yesterday postponed a vote on a subway inspection contract with a consultant that helped manage the Big Dig, where highway tunnels are riddled with hundreds of leaks.

Board members also learned yesterday that the transit agency faces an additional $10 million budget shortfall because a leasing arrangement it had planned for 28 new commuter rail cars is not drawing any takers. That doubles the T's projected deficit for the fiscal year that started July 1 to $20 million.

When the proposed $550,000 contract with Parsons Brinckerhoff for Red Line tunnel inspection and inventory came before the board, Transportation Secretary John Cogliano, the board's chairman, quickly moved to delay it. The board unanimously went along without discussion.

Parsons Brinckerhoff is part of a joint venture with Bechtel Corp. to oversee reconstruction of the Central Artery and the building of new tunnels extending Interstate 90 to Logan International Airport. Since the tunnels opened to traffic, numerous leaks and other defects have been found, including a September breach that flooded one section.

"There was some failure in quality control and quality assurance on the Central Artery project at various phases of the construction," Cogliano said after the meeting. "Immediately when I reviewed the briefing for this particular board item, it sent up a red flag."

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority staff selected Parsons Brinckerhoff, a massive-infrastructure consultant based in New York, as the most qualified of six firms seeking the subway tunnel inspection contract. The T says it has worked with the corporation for nearly three decades, including on other subway projects, and has always received quality work.

"This contractor's work on the Big Dig was not considered during the selection process," said T spokesman Joe Pesaturo. "It wasn't on the list of criteria."

The state is negotiating with Bechtel and Parsons Brinckerhoff to recover millions in extra costs associated with Big Dig troubles. A state Senate oversight committee issued a report in December urging that no new contracts be awarded to the firms until those negotiations are complete.

T board members plan to meet with staff about the proposed contract in the coming weeks, Cogliano said.

Andrew Paven, a spokesman for Parsons Brinckerhoff, said the company will address any concerns. "We would welcome a full, fact-based review of our work and qualifications," he said.

On another matter, the board approved soliciting a lease agreement for 28 commuter rail cars from a company in Ireland. That deal, relying on tax breaks that an Irish firm could claim, could net the T an estimated $1 million.

But that would be far less than the $10 million the agency hoped to get from a similar lease it wanted with a US company.

Transit agencies, municipalities, and other governments have commonly used such leases to generate additional revenue. A corporation that pays to lease equipment such as trains has been able to deduct depreciation on its federal tax forms.

Last fall, however, Congress tightened the tax loophole. Even though deals that were already in progress, such as the T's proposed train lease, were grandfathered in, companies worry that the tax laws could change again.

That has left the T, already strapped for cash, with a significant shortfall only two weeks into the fiscal year. Jonathan Davis, MBTA chief financial officer, said the authority will have to make up the lost income with budget cuts or new revenue.

"We are struggling," he said. "We are in for a difficult year."

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Source: The Boston Globe

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