BOSTON (AP) - The Big Dig is due an $800 million refund from insurers when the job is finished because of an excellent worker safety record, project officials said.
While there have been two fatal accidents and two serious injuries since the Central Artery Project began in 1992, the state will receive the refund because estimates of injury-related losses have been lower than previously predicted.
"That's remarkable, take it from me," said Philip Colleran, a Chicago-based safety and health consultant who lectures on construction safety. "I've been in this business 28 years. That's amazing."
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the Aug. 16 death of Fook Choi Kan. Kan, 56, of Springfield, fell 15 feet into a pit.
Steelworker John Hegerty of the city's Dorchester neighborhood died in a March, 1998, accident in a pit. Allied Pile Driving paid an $11,500 fine as part of an OSHA settlement.
A variety of devices are used to protect safety, from old fashioned brass tags assigned to keep track of people entering underground sites to modern electronic devices that automatically record employees entering and leaving restricted work areas.
Through June of this year, the rate of injury on the Big Dig was 3.2 injured workers per 100 workers, Andrew Paven, a Big Dig spokesman, told The Boston Globe. The national average is 5.4 injuries per 100 workers.
About 5,000 full-time workers were employed on the Big Dig project this year.