MTA Wants Independent Review of Subway Construction Manager

Pledging “an aggressive pushing for the facts,” the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s top executive said Friday he is seeking an outside examination of the firm that managed construction of the Los Angeles subway.

Franklin E. White, the agency’s chief executive officer, said in an interview that he plans to announce early next month the selection of an independent consulting firm to conduct the review.

The management firm whose performance is to be evaluated, Parsons-Dillingham, has been paid more than $150 million by the transit agency to supervise subway construction.

White said the review of Parsons-Dillingham’s work would be done in “coordination with” a three-member panel appointed to assess the safety and durability of tunnels between Union Station and Pershing Square.

The panel--named in response to a Times article in August that reported that numerous segments of the tunnels were built with concrete thinner than the design-specified thickness of 12 inches--began its work nearly two weeks ago.

Transit agency engineers have said the tunnels are safe, and representatives of Parsons-Dillingham have defended the firm’s performance.

“Parsons-Dillingham welcomes the opportunity to put all concerns to rest,” said company spokesman Ray W. Judson. “We are proud of our performance on the Metro Red Line project. . . . Taxpayers are getting real value for their money.”

On Sept. 2, a Parsons-Dillingham executive was fired from the project after White learned that the firm incorrectly told design engineers that 90 feet of tunnels had been buttressed with steel plating to compensate for thin concrete. Officials later found that 40 feet were reinforced.

“The (MTA) board and the public have the right to expect the fullest impartiality, and an aggressive pushing for the facts,” White said Friday.

White said the review also would assess if the builder of the tunnels, Tutor-Saliba Corp., had fully complied with the contract specifications. Company President Ronald N. Tutor was unavailable for comment. He has said his company followed the specifications and welcomes a review.

Although White said in a statement last month that he wanted the three-member panel to examine both the tunnel’s structural qualities and Parsons-Dillingham’s performance, he decided later to separate the reviews.

White said Friday that it may be difficult to find a consulting firm capable of evaluating, without any commercial conflict of interest, the work of Parsons-Dillingham. The joint venture is affiliated with the Ralph M. Parsons Co., a prestigious engineering services firm with construction contracts worldwide.

If White is not satisfied that a private firm can provide a thorough, objective review, he said that he would consider retaining either university academics or contracting specialists from another government agency, such as the Army Corps of Engineers or the California Department of Transportation.

Two MTA board members who have expressed concern about the subway construction said Friday that they would support recruiting Caltrans specialists to assist or lead the review. “The transit industry is a private club--they protect their own,” said Nick Patsaouras. MTA member Marvin L. Holen said: “Caltrans seems to be in a better position (to conduct a review). After all, they’re a buyer of services, not a seller of services.”