Representative Keenan Urges Colleagues to
Support Big Dig Investigative Commission

BOSTON, MA – State Representative John Keenan (D-Salem) today sent a letter to his colleagues urging them to support legislation that was proposed by Senator Marian Walsh that would create an independent, seven-member Emergency Investigative Review Board to examine possible unsafe practices and mismanagement on the part of contractors and government officials with regard to the construction of the Central Artery project.

The letter encourages his colleagues to join him in co-sponsoring Senator Walsh’s legislation. “Unlike the ongoing investigations into the Central Artery Project, the commission proposed by Senator Walsh is the most effective way of ensuring a thorough, independent investigation of this process that is beyond the influence of gubernatorial and presidential politics,” the letter states.

“Studies have shown that accidents such as the collapse of ceiling panels that led to the loss of Melina Del Valle’s life frequently have their roots in a web of political considerations, fiscal irresponsibility, and general mismanagement, which we must unravel and redress in order to prevent similar tragedies in the future and restore the confidence of the citizens of the Commonwealth.”

The letter goes on to remind House members of the work of the Ward Commission in the late seventies and eighties, which was convened in order to investigate flaws in the public construction contract bidding process. Many of the commission’s recommendations were ultimately enacted into law.

The letter suggests that establishing a similar commission to investigate the Big Dig would result in reforms to the process that allowed $14.6 billion to be spent on a project that is rife with leaks and other construction failures and that has resulted in the death of one person.

“We should remember the success of the Ward Commission, and apply its lesson: an independent investigatory body free to operate outside the realm of politics can address and begin to remedy severe lapses of good governance,” it reads, “We must restore the public’s trust in our ability to construct a safe, state-of-the-art highway system.”