News  OIG Issued a Report Entitled "A Review of Design and Construction Costs for MassDOT’s Veterans Memorial Bridge"

The Office’s Internal Special Audit Unit (“ISAU”) reviewed certain change orders and contract overruns for the design and final phase of construction of the Veterans Memorial Bridge over the Taunton River. The ISAU identified opportunities for MassDOT to strengthen its administration of large-scale transportation projects with respect to design errors and cost recoveries.  For example, MassDOT paid the bridge designer $9.2 million in added consulting fees, largely to address problems with its own design; however, the designer’s contracts with MassDOT required the designer to provide these services without additional payment.  Also, MassDOT paid the contractor for the final phase of construction an additional $7.4 million largely because of errors and omissions in the bridge design plans.  MassDOT should have held the designer responsible for these costs.  

In its review of change orders, the ISAU found the designer specified using a natural gas system as the bridge’s backup power source without seeking pre-approval of the design from the state plumbing board.  After the generators were installed, the state board rejected the design for the natural gas lines, leading MassDOT to switch to a diesel system at an additional cost of $1.98 million. Although MassDOT stated that the design firm should have sought pre-approval from the state plumbing board, the agency did not seek to recover any portion of the $1.98 million cost overrun from the bridge designer. The ISAU also identified potential cost savings. For example, MassDOT paid to have the bridge’s steel superstructure painted; however, MassDOT’s own specifications called for unpainted steel. Also, MassDOT did not competitively procure two years of bridge operation and maintenance services.    

Finally, during the last phase of construction, MassDOT engineers identified almost $16 million in potential cost recoveries related to design errors and omissions. However, MassDOT did not pursue any cost recoveries from the design firm and continued to work with the bridge designer on several subsequent projects. Shortly after the ISAU made inquiries about MassDOT’s cost-recovery efforts in 2016, the agency reconvened the committee and began pursuing cost recoveries. MassDOT also appointed a full-time cost recovery administrator in May 2016.  At the close of this review, the committee had determined that 54 extra work orders warranted further pursuit and it had successfully recovered $1.9 million from three design firms on four different projects.  However, MassDOT indicated it would not pursue recoveries on closed contracts, such as its contracts with the bridge designer for the Veterans Memorial Bridge.

To learn more, see: A Review of Design and Construction Costs for MassDOT's Veterans Memorial Bridge, October 2018