turnpike

Where's the Ward Commission when you need it?

adamg — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 10:06:56 -0400

State Sen. Marian Walsh wants another Ward Commission to keep the Big Dig debacle from ever happening again (for you whippersnappers, the Ward Commission exposed endless corruption and greed after UMass buildings started crumbling).

Great idea, Sco writes:

... I can't see how DiMasi could object unless he's afraid of what such a commission might uncover or whose feathers it might ruffle. The best way for Beacon Hill to regain any of its credibility is to haul everyone and anyone who was ever involved in the Big Dig in front of a camera and microphone to answer tough questions under oath. If that means some current and former politicians have to sweat it out, even better. ...

Ah, but who should be forced to testify? Charlie on the MTA has a list, starting with:

Jim Kerasiotes: Head of the Big Dig from 1991-2000. Dictator. Had hard drives sand-blasted so data couldn't be recovered by investigators. The biggest villain. ...

Matt Amorello on notice

adamg — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 17:19:59 -0400

Kimberly Atkins has the details of Romney's formal effort to remove Matt Amorello from office - which also includes a suit by three Romney appointees to the turnpike board against Amorello.

Spatch: Romney to Amorello: It's on, bitch:

... Too bad A. Romney's looking right into the eyes of 2008 when he bares his teeth, and B. someone had to die for the shakeup (shakedown?) to happen.

But don't worry about Matt. The turnpike authority will be paying his legal bills - starting with $92,000 for one legal brief.

Matt Amorello limericks

adamg — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 21:23:15 -0400

Massachusetts GOP News posts three Amorello limericks - and none involve "Nantucket."

A Big Dig blog

adamg — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 12:58:01 -0400

What would the Big Dig debacle be without a Big Dig Debacle blog?

Universal Hub's own Big Dig page.

Unhappy motorists

adamg — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 08:54:37 -0400

Jason Butler lives in MetroWest, works on Congress Street. He reports:

Boy, it sucks to work on Congress Street and drive in from the west these days.

They've closed another section of the Big Dig this morning, and all the traffic on from the Mass Pike is flowing onto the surface streets all around us. I'm not looking forward to trying to find a way onto the Pike this afternoon when I have to go home. ...

Ed. question: Imagine if all this were happening when everybody was at work, like March? Or during a snowstorm? Oh, wait, what was that Romney said about the tunnels possibly being closed for months?

Perhaps one of those diverted motorists was the tractor-trailer driver who apparently became so exhausted by the ordeal this morning that he just stopped his 18-wheeler right in the middle of Devonshire Place and took a nap.

On Boston Crazy Driving, Tim outlines some suggestions for relieving the current traffic woes that, being sensible, will of course never be done, such as temporarily opening HOV lanes to all motorists.

Big Dig: View from the 'hood; political fallout

adamg — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 14:33:32 -0400

Harold M. Clemons casts a Roxbury eye on the Big Dig scandal:

... They compare it to the Hoover Dam and the Panama Canal. I compare it to the New Deal because, on its account, good, decent, hardworking white boys that aren't highly educated can still make honest wages sufficient to provide for their families, while darkies of similar education and rearing fill the unemployment rolls and watch the prosperity from afar. On my word I ain't seen a nigga workin' the 'Dig' yet and it's been goin' on since I was like 10! ...

Jay Fitzgerald wouldn't be surprised if the scandal takes down Reilly, Healey and Romney in the 2006 and 2008 elections:

... [Romney] may try to spin this in campaign commercials as another Salt Lake City take-charge moment. But it's not going to work. The Big Dig is now a national joke. Mitt's going to get hammered for it by rivals in debates and in commercials, whether he deserves it or not. Can't you picture a future GOP or Dem rival, ala George Bush's bold 1988 Boston Harbor gambit, coming to Boston and posing for shots outside the mouth of a Big Dig tunnel? ...

Elias notes how Romney rushed up to NH for his vacation:

... You now see just what Governor Romeny really thinks of the whole matter...fodder for fear-mongering and posturing nothing more. A crisis sufficiently trivial that it can be left to his staff to sort out with "Lt. Governor Barbie" to act as an acceptable and decorous cut out at the press briefings. ...

Blue Mass. Group notes the similarities between Amorello's "I am not incompetent" interview and a certain former president's "I am not a crook" speech and pages Jim Kerasiotes:

Sure, there's lots of blame to go around, as many of you pointed out in response to my rant from yesterday. But it wasn't the legislature that was sand-blasting hard drives in the Big Dig's offices.

Hub Politics, however, detects raving hypocrisy in Demmie leaders handing over the investigation to a Republican governor while blasting the GOP:

... So, if Travaglini and DiMasi are meaning to imply that it's not Democratic leadership failures in the state legislature, but rather the "16 years of Republican control" in the governor's office that is more to blame, why on earth would they give control over the inspections to, that's right, a Republican governor?

Andy at Mass. Revolution Now doesn't like the investigation handover:

This is patently a mistake and another example of how the state legislature utterly fails to accept its responsibility to prevent further problems with the CA/T project.

Mitt Romney has had 3 years to address the problems at the Big Dig. Last year we learned of leaking walls. Why didn't he ask for this oversight authority then? ...

The Outraged Liberal, though, says all the outrage is misplaced:

... Where is the outrage at Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, the mammoth organization that "managed" this project. Or Modern Continental, which has a very checkered, but unchecked history in constructing this mess. Not to mention a history of ignoring the rules.

None of these logical targets have in the sights of our (former) governor as he has professed anger over the Big Dig and focused instead on ousting Matt Amorello. Only now, sensing a potential threat to his sham image as a great manager, Mitt has "grabbed the reins" by seeking to head up the investigation. The Legislature, wanting to avoid the obstructionist tag, went along. ...

Mass. GOP News actually credits two of the three Democratic candidates for governor: Deval Patrick, Chris Gabrieli and Kerry Healey Brilliantly Quiet on Big Dig.

Tim Lavallee notes that the state has a Big Dig fraud hotline(1-888-TIP-BGDG) and suggests: Let's all call and say that a fraud has been perpetrated on the public trust.

Dan Kennedy has more links.

Big Dig late-night report: Amorello worse than Ken Lay

adamg — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 22:35:12 -0400

Because nobody died on Lay's watch, Christine argues, suggesting that instead of a payment to make Amorello go away, the state should exile him to some remote Boston Harbor island.

Joe Dwinell tallies up the number of problem bolts - it's grown from 60 to 242.

One Boston visitor reports his anxiety in driving through the Ted Williams Tunnel today:

Big Dig: Worse and worser

adamg — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 16:41:14 -0400

This morning, Dan Kennedy predicted more bad Big Dig news before we're through.

This just in: The westbound side of the tunnel is in worse shape than the one where the ceiling fell in.

Kennedy also wonders why the ancient Sumner and Callahan tunnels and the Blue Line tunnel under the harbor, just work. What makes them different?

Matt Amorello says a world without him as chairman is not a world any of us would want to be part of.

The I-90 connector will re-open

adamg — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 12:48:07 -0400

* Next week\n* Next month\n* Next year\n* Never\n* Dunno\n

Big Dig: The central issue in this year's elections

adamg — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 10:28:25 -0400

On Blue Mass. Group, Charlie explains why the Big Dig is the biggest issue in the 2006 elections:

... The Big Dig is a black hole that by its indictment of government incompetence, sucks all issues into its maw. Take taxes: depending on how you slice it, Massachusetts tax burden is not particularly high; if you've ever lived in Chicago or New York you know that's the case. And yet, in light of this colossal failure of accountability, how can any politician in Massachusetts credibly claim that tax money won't be wasted? All of the candidates promise new spending initiatives, in health care, education, potholes, law enforcement, whatever. In the public's mind, the Big Dig calls into question every single government spending initiative, however well-intended and well-designed, because it calls into question the ability of our government to deliver on its promises, and its willingness to put the public interest first. ...