Firm Says It Is Not to Blame on Subway Job : Tunnels: Parsons-Dillingham claims that it is being made a scapegoat and that Shea-Kiewit-Kenny intentionally concealed construction flaws from the inspection firm.

The assigning of blame for construction problems that have shut down subway excavation in Hollywood intensified Thursday, as the firm paid to inspect the work accused the tunneling contractor of deliberately hiding defective work.

The allegation was leveled by an official representing the inspection firm Parsons-Dillingham, which itself is under fire for its role in not catching substandard construction.

In a related development, the chief executive officer of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said he will immediately refer the allegation against the tunnel contractor, Shea-Kiewit-Kenny, to the MTA’s inspector general.

Ray W. Judson, assistant to the chairman of Pasadena-based Parsons Corp., parent of Parsons-Dillingham, said in a statement that the inspection firm is unfairly being made a “scapegoat” for the subway project’s problems. Parsons-Dillingham and its earlier affiliated inspection firms have received about $260 million for inspecting work on the subway project.

Tunneling has been shut down along Hollywood Boulevard since Aug. 18. Engineers have said the failure of wood bracing helped cause surface sinkages.

Judson accused Shea-Kiewit-Kenny of hiding improper installation of filler material surrounding the wood wedge braces, which project engineers approved as substitutes for metal struts. The wedges, placed in expansion gaps of the outer tunnel shell, are supposed to be surrounded by high-strength concrete or grout.

Judson said: “As a result of the sinking along Hollywood Boulevard, which exposed the wedges and dry packing, P-D now believes that (Shea-Kiewit-Kenny) deliberately and willfully covered up nonconforming work.

“The improper filling of the expansion gaps on the Hollywood tunnel project was not identified by P-D because the filling material was covered over by (Shea-Kiewit-Kenny),” Judson said.

Representatives of Shea-Kiewit-Kenny did not return calls seeking comment. They have said in the past that the company’s contract requires it to refer all media inquiries to Parsons-Dillingham.

Franklin E. White, MTA chief executive officer, said further investigation would be required to determine the merit of Parsons-Dillingham’s allegation. For now, White said, he will ask his agency’s inspector general to review the matter.

White also said that he wants the allegation assessed by a separate engineering firm that the MTA hired last week to investigate the construction of the tunnels being built by Shea-Kiewit-Kenny.

If warranted, White said, “we will take all appropriate action, including making criminal (investigation) referrals. . . . The inspector general is the intermediary point between our management and law enforcement agencies.”

Federal authorities, including the FBI and the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Transportation, have been investigating various aspects of Metro Rail construction over the past two years.

Parsons-Dillingham said Thursday that it has provided the level of inspection paid for by the MTA.

“Given the MTA budget restrictions under which (Parsons-Dillingham) operates, P-D has consistently employed the maximum number of (qualified) inspection personnel,” Judson said. “The MTA budget does not provide for continuous and simultaneous inspection of all tunnel construction activities.”

White, who said earlier this week that he is considering whether to terminate the contracts of Parsons-Dillingham and Shea-Kiewit, disputed the statement.

“Nothing in the (Parsons-Dillingham) statement comes close to justifying P-D’s failure to thoroughly inspect critical tunnel support elements,” White said.

Representatives of Parsons made a similar comment one year ago when questioned about inspectors’ failure to identify thin concrete poured in tunnels Downtown. An independent review launched by White of that earlier work concluded that Parsons-Dillingham fell short of “acceptable industry practice” in its inspections.

Judson said that Parsons-Dillingham has been unjustly vilified. “We can no longer remain quiet about the outrageous allegations that have been made regarding our performance,” he said.