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Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff Responds to Boston Globe Series on the Big Dig

  • 20 February 2003
  • Americas, Press Release

Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff Responds to Boston Globe Series on the Big Dig

Boston Globe accused the Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff joint venture of costing the public more than a billion dollars in unjustified outlays on the Central Artery/Tunnel Project in Boston. The series was fundamentally flawed by a profound misunderstanding of the professional role of the management consultant vis-à-vis the state of Massachusetts and other consultants and contractors, ignorance of the immense challenges of underground construction in a historic urban area, misrepresentations of key facts, and a flagrant resort to innuendo.

These allegations do a serious disservice to those trying to understand the truth about the largest, most complex urban transportation project in U.S. history. To set the record straight, Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff has developed the two documents below.
  • An overview of cost, scope, schedule, and management issues related to the “Big Dig” project, which provides critical background: Key Facts (PDF: 129 KB, 7 pages)
  • A detailed rebuttal to the Boston Globe’s series, including a point-by-point refutation of its key allegations: Reply (PDF: 151 KB, 18 pages) 

Key Contact

About Bechtel

Bechtel is a trusted engineering, construction and project management partner to industry and government. Differentiated by the quality of our people and our relentless drive to deliver the most successful outcomes, we align our capabilities to our customers’ objectives to create a lasting positive impact. Since 1898, we have helped customers complete more than 25,000 projects in 160 countries on all seven continents that have created jobs, grown economies, improved the resiliency of the world's infrastructure, increased access to energy, resources, and vital services, and made the world a safer, cleaner place.  

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