Op-Ed ; Street Smarts Lag on Dig

ALAN LUPO. Boston Herald. Boston, Mass.: Jul 12, 2006. pg. 25

Copyright Boston Herald Library Jul 12, 2006

For pure convenience and peace of mind, the Mass Pike extension through the Ted Williams Tunnel and onto Route 1A in East Boston has been a godsend for those of us who commute to the other side of the harbor.

But for the foreseeable future, we'll drive with one eye on the roadway and the other on the walls and roof.

It is too early to pinpoint who's to blame for Monday's tragedy. The whole Big Dig has been an easy target for cheap-shot artists who avoid mentioning the benefits to transit, the environment, commerce and residential quality of life. But even the most fair-minded observer cannot be so myopic as to refrain from criticism and not wonder whether the problems stem from the state's failure to monitor the project and its contractors and subcontractors.

Was there what we used to call a clerk-of-the-works, albeit a more sophisticated version? Did the state budget enough money for qualified inspectors who would not be beholden to any contractor?

After Mike Dukakis and his secretary of transportation, Fred Salvucci, father of the Big Dig, left office in 1991, the state Highway Department began bleeding personnel. By 2003, the president of the Mass. Organization of State Engineers and Scientists complained, "The reductions of staffing over the years has caused a lack of what we see as proper oversight, which gives free rein to contractors and can lead to the waste and fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars."

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deval Patrick yesterday renewed his call for a "special inspector general" to assume Big Dig oversight.

It might work. It reminds one of the 1950s Massachusetts Crime Commission and the 1970s Ward Commission. Scandals, such as the ceiling collapse, often lead to special probes or commissions.

Even short of that, we deserve an answer. Who was watching the store, and were there enough of them?

Talk back at Alan Lupo at alupo@comcast.net

Credit: By ALAN LUPO