Hiring of Parsons Brinckerhoff is assailed by critics
The Massport board yesterday approved a $30 million contract with Parsons Brinckerhoff Americas to design and manage construction of a Logan Airport parking complex, prompting criticism from those who said the state should not do business with a company that paid millions of dollars to settle complaints about its work on the Big Dig.
Parsons Brinckerhoff was part of a consortium that oversaw design and construction of the $15 billion Big Dig tunnel project, which was plagued by cost overruns, leaks, and a 2006 ceiling collapse that killed a Jamaica Plain woman.
"There is absolutely no excuse to do business with the major culprits with this disaster," said state Senator Mark Montigny, a New Bedford Democrat and part of a group lawmakers who unsuccessfully tried to bar Parsons Brinckerhoff from ever doing work in the state again. "Fifteen billion dollars and loss of life ought to be enough to convince any management or board that you don't do business with the devil. There are companies all over this country dying to do business here."
Boston Globe - Full Story
Showing posts with label Massport. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Massport. Show all posts
Friday, November 21, 2008
Massport chief voices concerns on takeover
The chief executive officer of the Massachusetts Port Authority said yesterday that he "hoped to get some sort of agreement in principle" next month to take over the Big Dig and the eastern portions of the Massachusetts Turnpike, but urged caution on Governor Deval Patrick's plan to fix the financially struggling transportation system.
"There's just so many moving pieces to this," Thomas J. Kinton Jr. said in his first public comments since Patrick announced his plan this month. The plan would transfer the eastern portion of the Turnpike Authority to Massport, which runs Logan International Airport, while the state highway department would take over the portion west of Route 128.
Kinton also said yesterday that there would be no immediate increase in tolls on the Tobin Bridge, even as the Turnpike Authority voted last week to raise other tolls in the area.
The Tobin is the only toll road in Greater Boston not controlled by the Turnpike Authority. The turnpike's board gave preliminary approval last week to increasing tolls at the Allston-Brighton and Weston toll booths, and doubling tolls in the Ted Williams and Sumner tunnels.
"We're not prepared to do anything just yet," Kinton said about the Tobin Bridge. "Obviously, everything is on the table."
Tolls at the Tobin cost $3 for drivers coming into Boston who pay cash, with a 50-cent discount for those who pay electronically using either Fast Lane or EZ Pass. The turnpike also has discounts for Fast Lane users, though not for those with out-of-state EZ Passes. Massport doubled the Tobin rates to $2 in 2002 and went up another dollar in 2004.
If the Tobin is significantly cheaper than the tunnels, drivers from the North Shore might change their route, which could lead to back-ups on the bridge.
Boston Globe - Full Story
"There's just so many moving pieces to this," Thomas J. Kinton Jr. said in his first public comments since Patrick announced his plan this month. The plan would transfer the eastern portion of the Turnpike Authority to Massport, which runs Logan International Airport, while the state highway department would take over the portion west of Route 128.
Kinton also said yesterday that there would be no immediate increase in tolls on the Tobin Bridge, even as the Turnpike Authority voted last week to raise other tolls in the area.
The Tobin is the only toll road in Greater Boston not controlled by the Turnpike Authority. The turnpike's board gave preliminary approval last week to increasing tolls at the Allston-Brighton and Weston toll booths, and doubling tolls in the Ted Williams and Sumner tunnels.
"We're not prepared to do anything just yet," Kinton said about the Tobin Bridge. "Obviously, everything is on the table."
Tolls at the Tobin cost $3 for drivers coming into Boston who pay cash, with a 50-cent discount for those who pay electronically using either Fast Lane or EZ Pass. The turnpike also has discounts for Fast Lane users, though not for those with out-of-state EZ Passes. Massport doubled the Tobin rates to $2 in 2002 and went up another dollar in 2004.
If the Tobin is significantly cheaper than the tunnels, drivers from the North Shore might change their route, which could lead to back-ups on the bridge.
Boston Globe - Full Story
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
