Criminal Charges In Big Dig Tunnel Collapse

Powers Fasteners Inc., the company that provided the epoxy adhesive blamed in the fatal Boston Big Dig tunnel collapse was indicted this week in the death of a woman killed on July 10, 2006, when tons of falling concrete crushed her automobile. Milena Del Valle, 39, was killed when as she and her husband drove through the Big Dig tunnel. Her husband escaped with only minor injuries.
An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board concluded the collapse could have been avoided if designers and construction crews had considered that the epoxy holding support anchors for the panels could slowly pull away over time. The report of the investigation spread blame for the collapse among the many corporations, consultants and engineers involved in the Big Dig project, the most expensive highway project in U.S. history. The agency also faulted the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority for failing to conduct a timely tunnel inspection program.
The indictment alleges that Powers Fasteners knew the type of epoxy it marketed and sold for the nearly $15 billion project was unsuitable for the weight it would have to hold, but never told project managers.
The charge does not directly affect a separate wrongful death lawsuit that Del Valle’s husband and daughter filed against Powers, the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and eight other companies.