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Governor Wants to Fire Boston’s Big Dig Boss

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From Associated Press

Gov. Mitt Romney asked the state’s highest court Tuesday if he had the power to fire the Massachusetts turnpike chairman, after an engineer who led an investigation into leaks at the $14.6-billion Big Dig project said he could no longer vouch for the safety of its tunnels.

“With the Big Dig there’s been a pattern of coverup and stonewalling that has left the public with little confidence that the project is being managed well or that the road and tunnel system are safe to travel,” Romney said.

But he stopped short of calling the tunnels unsafe, and said he would continue to drive through them.

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The governor’s comments came in response to a March 9 letter written to the Turnpike Authority by engineering specialist Jack K. Lemley, who said he was “unable to express an opinion as to the safety of the I-93 portion of the Central Artery.”

Romney has previously called for Turnpike Chairman Matthew Amorello’s resignation. In his request to the state Supreme Court, Romney wrote that Amorello had “failed to discharge the critical duties of his position competently” and was “threatening the public good.”

Amorello defended the safety of the tunnels Tuesday, and said he no intention of resigning.

The Big Dig highway project, which buries Interstate 93 under downtown Boston and connects the turnpike to Logan International Airport, has been plagued by cost overruns and riddled by leaks and other construction flaws.

In September, water broke though a faulty wall panel and flooded one of the tunnels, backing up rush-hour traffic for miles. A subsequent investigation headed by Lemley found hundreds of smaller leaks.

Lemley told lawmakers in November that there was no risk to people driving through the tunnels. Since then, Big Dig officials have identified more than 40 sections of the tunnel with problems.

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In his letter, Lemley said project officials would not provide records and data on the new problems. He said his change in position was also driven by the apparent lack of a formal plan to address the leaks.

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