Digging Out of the Money Pit

One of Massachusetts Gov. A. Paul Cellucci's favorite accomplishments to trumpet was that the Big Dig--the nation's largest public works project in history--was coming in on time and within budget. Not anymore. Originally budgeted to cost $10.8 billion, overruns and unanticipated construction challenges have added $1.4 billion to the cost of the project. While it was not surprising that some cost targets were not met in this mammoth project, there is a deeper problem: The managers of the project apparently concealed that information from state officials, bond rating agencies and the public.

James J. Kerasiotes, Chair of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, claims in a recent op-ed article in The Boston Globe that he "has not been hiding a budget shortfall." Yet, the project's spokesperson admits that project managers realized last June that the project was $500 million over budget.

Only on Feb. 1 did Kerasiotes admit publicly that the cost of the project would increase to $12.2 billion. This prompted U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater to announce that federal funds for the Big Dig would be cut off unless the state came up with a viable plan for financing the project by March 15. As the federal government is paying about 70 percent of the Big Dig costs, such a freeze would be a catastrophic blow to the project.

The fact that the managers of the Big Dig did not reveal overruns of this magnitude for so many months is a stunning betrayal of the public trust. The result could be a crisis in public confidence in not only the project itself but in the rudderless administration of Governor Cellucci. Indeed, recent opinion polls have shown his support falling dramatically.

The fact that Cellucci has stood behind Kerasiotes at every step of the way is startling. Kerasiotes, always one to speak his mind, publicly insulted two of Governor Cellucci's top aides, calling one a "reptile" and the other a "moron," according to The Wall Street Journal. In the same article, Kerasiotes asserted that the Governor was "scared" of him. The fact that Kerasiotes is so indispensable that he can get away with these types of transgressions on top of concealing a massive budget overrun is not reassuring.

This administration has been plagued by public officials' inappropriate behavior. The head of Massport, Peter Blute, was sacked after he took a booze cruise in Boston Harbor. Lt. Governor Jane Swift apologized for her use of a state helicopter for personal purposes. Given these past incidents, Cellucci can ill afford the Big Dig to come to a grinding halt.

The citizens of Massachusetts should be appalled at the conduct of some officials in the Cellucci administration. Governor Cellicci ought to seriously reevaluate the state's management of the Big Dig project. The project's goals should be re-evaluated and re-oriented so that the Big Dig will be finished as quickly--and as close to budget--as possible. In the process, however, the citizens of Massachusetts should be able to believe that the information they are receiving about the Big Dig is full and accurate.