Same company inspecting Big Dig

BOSTON, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Massachusetts has employed the same management consultant that oversaw previous Big Dig work in Boston to check repairs after a fatal accident.

Gov. Mitt Romney had harsh words for the work done by Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff after a woman was killed in the tunnel in July by a falling ceiling tile. But the firm has confirmed it is doing daily inspections, the Boston Herald reported.

"This is just stunning," Christy Mihos, an independent gubernatorial candidate and former Turnpike Authority board member, told the Herald. "Why would they let the same people who got us into this mess look to find the most opportune way of getting us out of it?"

The Big Dig, which eliminated an elevated highway that had divided downtown Boston for decades, was one of the most ambitious urban construction projects in history. The work was plagued by delays and cost overruns and then by the ceiling fall.

Investigations into the death of Milena del Valle of Boston have not been completed.