Settlement agreements with designer Gannett Fleming and epoxy glue producer Sika last month has completed the claims brought by Massachusetts over the fatal ceiling collapse, in 2006, in the Big Dig Tunnel in Boston.
Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office said Gannett Fleming was the designer for the section of tunnel ceiling that collapsed, and it has agreed to a US$1.725M settlement in three parts: US$1.525M into the Central Artery Statewide Road and Bridge Infrastructure Fund; US$50,000 to the City of Boston; and, it will forgo US$150,000 of payments from Massachusetts Turnpike Authority (MTA).
The settlement with Sika, which sold the epoxy to Power Fasteners, Inc, will see the manufacturer pay US$200,000 into the Fund.
The settlement agreement is with the Commonwealth, represented by the Attorney General’s Office, and the MTA and Massachusetts Highway Department (MHD).
At the end of last year, the criminal manslaughter indictment against anchor adhesives manufacturer Power Fasteners was dismissed as part of a compliance agreement, and civil claims were settled for US$16M with the Commonwealth and City of Boston (T&TNA, December 2008, px).
Claims against structural engineer Sigma Engineering International, Inc, and materials inspection firm Conam, Inc, have been dismissed, the Attorney General’s Office added last month.
In July 2006, a ceiling panel fell in the I-90 connector tunnel and struck a car, killing a woman passenger, Melina Del Valle.
Attorney General Martha Coakley said in a statement: ‘The resolutions we have reached with the various companies involved in the project appropriately hold accountable those responsible for the problems in our tunnels, ensure that similar problems will be prevented in the future, and provide the Commonwealth with the necessary funds to maintain the tunnels and other transportation infrastructure in the years ahead.’
She took office in January 2007 and in addressing problems with the Big Dig project – including the ceiling collapse – she has obtained a total of US$610.6M in recoveries from the resolved civil claims, including those that were litigation-related.
Other recoveries over 2007-8, the Attorney General’s Office said, were: US$58.5M in AIG state settlement related to workers’ compensation insurance overcharges; US$50M in Aggregate Industries settlement over false claims for adulterated cement; US$458.2M in Bechtel/ Parsons Brinckerhoff settlement over ceiling collapse, wall leaks and various design errors and problems; US$21M in Modern Continental Construction Co’s damages settlement; and, US$5M in the settlement for damages with Newman Associates, Inc, and Renner Colony, LLC.
