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State Highway Official Quits In Big Dig Light Fiasco

BOSTON (CBS/AP) - State Transportation Secretary Jeffrey Mullan has accepted the resignation of a top state highway official over what Mullan calls a "complete communications breakdown" following the collapse of a lighting fixture inside a Big Dig tunnel.

WBZ-TV's Jim Smith reports

Mullan said Friday that acting state highway administrator Frank Tramontozzi has stepped down from the post and fromhis previous job of chief engineer in the department.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports

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Mullan said there was a clear lack of management oversight that led to a delay of weeks in informing the public about the 110-pound fixture that crashed to the roadway in the Interstate 93 tunnel on Feb. 8.

Read: Tunnel Communications Report (.pdf)

Mullan said he was not fully informed of the incident for a month and he, in turn, did not tell Gov. Deval Patrick about it for another week.

Tramontozzi will be replaced by Frank DePaola, the assistant general manager for design and construction at the MBTA.

(TM and © Copyright 2010 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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