The National Transportation Safety Board has announced that it will launch an investigation of Monday’s Big Dig ceiling collapse. Reportedly, the NTSB is one of the few state or federal agencies having anything to do with transportation that wasn’t already somehow involved in the Big Dig.
According to the Globe story, the Federal Highway Administration is also investigating (NTSB is independent of the FHWA and of every other federal agency). And who runs the FHWA? Why, Rick Capka, former director of the Big Dig – and the guy that John Kerry tried to prevent from getting the FHWA job on the ground that he was incompetent. Hmm – wonder what his investigation will turn up? More to the point, I wonder whether he’ll have the decency to recuse himself from a painfully obvious conflict of interest. Capka was forced to quit the Big Dig after he was “criticized for failing to get a handle on spiraling costs at the massive construction project. Others lambasted him for backing million-dollar, six-month severance contracts for three lawyers who were involved with the project — deals that he later acknowledged were mistakes.”
Great. Maybe we should have Jim Kerasiotes run an investigation while we’re at it.
lynne says
NTSB has one of the best reps. If anyone can mount an objective investigation, they can.