Reilly To Oversee Big Dig Cost Recovery Efforts

BOSTON -- There's a new man in charge when it comes to rounding up millions of taxpayer dollars from contractors who worked on the Big Dig.

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Pam Cross Reports On Big Dig

NewsCenter 5's Pam Cross reported Thursday that Attorney General Tom Reilly will now have control of the project's ongoing cost recovery efforts.

"With 10 lawsuits filed, it would only make sense to turn it over to the chief legal enforcement counsel of the commonwealth," Turnpike Authority Chair Matt Amorello said.

The construction project totals $14.6 billion. The calls for contractors to pay something back grew as a number of leaks and defects were discovered.

The authority will likely authorize up to $15 million to cover the state's legal fees.

"I offer him my full and total support. I am sure that we will see cost recovery begin a second phase of a process that will take it off the front pages of the newspaper and into the courts or into negotiating sessions where it belongs," Turnpike Authority board member Jordan Levy said.

The most recent inspections have not found any new leaks. The probes will continue until February. The leaks that have been found will be repaired slowly during the next two to three months.