|
Federal Highway Administration chief Richard Capka – the top official on the Big Dig project during part of its construction – has formally recused himself from the agency’s investigation of the July 10th tunnel collapse. The move follows repeated calls by Kerry for Capka to officially remove himself from the investigation.
In a letter to Kerry, Capka agreed with Kerry that the investigation required the highest levels of impartiality and announced that he will recuse himself.
“The old saying that those who don’t learn history’s mistakes are doomed to repeat them should be the moral of the Big Dig investigation. Massachusetts taxpayers need an investigation that goes back to the very beginning of the project and exposes every mistake that was made – nothing less. We can’t afford any more questions about impartiality and accountability. Rick Capka made the right decision to step aside. It’s time for officials to start realizing the gravity of this failure, and to start taking action that should have been taken a long time ago,” said John Kerry.
Capka wrote in his letter to Kerry, “I appreciate and share your concern about ensuring the absolute objectivity of those involved in the review and investigations. . . [g]iven the issues raised by the incident, FHWA [Federal Highway Administration] involvement in resolving the matter must be clearly perceived as objective, impartial, and professional. Therefore, I have taken the additional step of formally recusing myself from any activities related to the ongoing reviews and investigations conducted by FHWA or in which it is providing assistance to Federal and State law enforcement agencies. . . you and I are in agreement that no confusion should exist regarding the credibility of FHWA’s and DOT’s [Department of Transportation’s] efforts in this matter.”
Kerry called on Capka to recuse himself in July and sent a letter formally requesting it on August 3, 2006, due to Capka’s prior role overseeing the Central Artery Project. In his August 3 letter, Kerry wrote: “Your direct involvement in the Central Artery Project presents an inherent conflict of interest that will undermine the credibility of FWHA’s conclusions regarding the accident. I fear you are simply too close to this project to provide the level of objectivity that the citizens of Massachusetts deserve.”
Earlier this year, Kerry placed a “hold” on Capka’s nomination to lead the Federal Highway Administration because of concerns about massive cost overruns when Capka ran the Big Dig. He lifted the hold after meeting with Capka, and after Capka responded to a series of in-depth questions about his financial management of the project.
# # #
|
