Romney's focus on Authority

BOSTON — Days after forcing out the head of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, Gov. Mitt Romney on Tuesday moved ahead with long-held plans that he says will streamline the agency, make it more efficient and save tax dollars.

Romney announced he will ask board members at their Aug. 16 meeting to approve the creation of a task force that will scrutinize the agency and identify areas where it can be merged with the state Executive Office of Transportation or other state agencies.

The governor has for years wanted to consolidate the two agencies.

Romney's announcement came days after Matthew Amorello yielded to mounting pressure and said he would resign Aug. 15 as the Turnpike Authority's chief executive officer and board chairman.

Romney had repeatedly urged Amorello to leave the agency, and the calls grew louder after the July 10 death of Milena Del Valle in a Big Dig tunnel.

Del Valle, 39, of Boston, was crushed when 12 tons of ceiling panels fell on her car in a tunnel connecting Interstate 90 to the Ted Williams Tunnel. Investigators believe metal bolts in the concrete tunnel ceiling may have given way.

The collapse shut down two tunnels to traffic and prompted Romney to launch a "stem to stern" safety review of the Big Dig tunnels.

The governor wouldn't give a timeline on an expected opening but said it would be nice to have the routes available by Labor Day weekend.

The problem-plagued, $14.6 billion Big Dig — the most expensive highway project in the nation's history — replaced a highway network with underground tunnels in and around downtown Boston.