A joint venture between Bechtel Infrastructure Corp. and PB Americas Inc. (B/PB) and certain design consultants have agreed to pay $458 million to the United States and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to settle allegations that B/PB violated federal and state criminal and civil laws by failing to provide adequate construction management and quality assurance services to the Central Artery Tunnel, known as the Big Dig, in Boston. The agreement also concedes that the design consultants caused excess costs to be incurred on the project.

According to the terms of the global resolution, Bechtel and PB Americas will pay more than $23 million to the United States and more than $40 million to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to settle federal and state False Claims Act allegations. In addition, an additional $335 million-plus has been set aside for a state warranty fund for future repairs to the Central Artery Tunnel. Bechtel and PB Americas will also enter into corporate integrity agreements with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation. Further, the United States and the Commonwealth have retained the right to pursue claims against Bechtel and PB Americas for their projected role in any future catastrophic event on the project that requires more than $50 million in repairs.

In a related settlement, Massachusetts agreed with a group of design consultants to an additional $51 million settlement arising from their acts, errors and omissions in performing design contracts that resulted in excess costs to the project.

Bechtel and PB Americas served as management consultants on the 20-year Big Dig transportation project, which runs through the heart of downtown Boston.

"We expect, and our citizens depend, on our nation's contractors to be truthful and perform the work they promise," said acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey S. Bucholtz. "[This] settlement requires Bechtel and PB Americas to be responsible for their conduct, and helps insure the future longevity of the Central Artery for the citizens of Boston and the greater Northeast."

According to the United States and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Bechtel and PB Americas failed to provide adequate services on four aspects of the Big Dig: 1) the construction of slurry wall panels in the I-93 tunnel; 2) the installation and monitoring of the epoxy ceiling bolts in the suspended ceiling of the I-90 Connector tunnel; 3) claims for payment by contractors on time and material contract modifications, and 4) oversight of the concrete delivered to the slurry wall construction by a large concrete supplier.

The agreement also resolves claims made in a qui tam action filed against Bechtel and PB Americas in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Under the agreement, the whistleblower’s share of the federal and state recoveries is $150,000.

The resolution of this matter was achieved by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts, the Attorney General's Office of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Federal Highway Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation, the New England Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, New England Field Office, and the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Justice Department's Civil Division.