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MBTA request for bidders
Fall, 1992 -- MBTA puts out bid for track construction for Old Colony rail with specifications using wooden ties because of two prior bad experiences with concrete. -
MBTA meets with Rocla
MBTA SuitNov. 1992 -- According to a suit filed by the T, Rocla meets with T officials to try to convince them the process and manufacturing of concrete ties has cured previous problems. -
Rocla promises price reductions
February 1993 -- After another letter from Rocla promising price reductions, a 50-year lifespan and quality assurances, MBTA officials rewrite bid specifications for ties to be made of concrete, the suit says. -
T buys concrete ties
Jan, 1995 -- MBTA awards tie contract to Rocla, who lobbied for the change to concrete and offered specifications for the contract bid. The T buys 147,000 concrete ties at a cost of $9 million. The contract comes with a warranty of just 15 years – about half the life of wooden ties –and despite other major transit agencies getting 25-year warranties from Rocla for the same product that is supposed to last a half-century.<a href='http://www.commonwealthmagazine.org/Programs/Full-Disclosure/~/medi -
Old Colony line opens
Sept, 1997 -- Old Colony Commuter Rail service begins on two lines to Boston’s South Station, from Middleborough/Lakeville and Plymouth/Kingston. -
New York MTA files suit
MTA suit against Rocla</a>After trying unsuccessfully for two years to get Rocla to stand behind its warranty for more than 200,000 defective ties, New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority sues the company. The case is settled out of court and the records sealed. According to budget filings by MTA officials, Rocla will supply replacement ties but the MTA still will spend nearly $125 million.<a href='http://www.commonwealthmagazine.org/Programs/Full-Disclosure/~/media/Files/Commonwealth%20Magaz -
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Amtrak begins replacing concrete ties
Amtrak begins replacing more than 176,000 defective concrete ties along its northeast Corridor at a cost of $110 million, including $50 million from federal stimulus money. The agency also settles with Rocla but only for the cost of replacement ties and not including shipping or labor for installation. The defective ties that both Amtrak and MTA bought from Rocla were made at the company’s Bear, Delaware plant, the same plant that the MBTA ties came from. <a href='http://www.commonwealthmagazin -
First tie failures
Spring, 2007 -- The first failure of ties on the Old Colony line are observed as the winter freeze melts, less than 10 years after commuter rail service is resumed. Briefing for legislators -
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Tie failure increases
Winter, 2007-2008 -- Failure rates of concrete ties along both lines increase. -
MBTA begins replacing ties
Spring, 2008 -- MBTA begins replacing cracked, crumbling and broken ties. No public announcement is made or speed reductions put in place on the tracks. -
Rocla officials admit ties are defective
June 5, 2008 -- In a meeting with the MBTA and Massachusetts Bay Commuter Rail, the private company managing commuter rail service for the T, Rocla officials say all 147,000 ties are likely defective and will have to be replaced in “the near future.” In the lawsuit that is later filed, T officials also say Rocla admits the ties should never have been marketed with a 50-year lifespan. -
Rocla offers to sell T replacement ties
June 11 2008 -- In a demand letter, the T claims Rocla offers to sell the T replacement ties at a cost of up to $15.5 million -- $6.5 million more than the original price, not including labor and refuses to honor its warranty. Rocla officials have never returned calls for comment or said anything publicly about whether they think the warranty claim is valid or not. <a href='http://www.commonwealthmagazine.org/Programs/Full-Disclosure/~/media/Files/Commonwealth%20Magazine/Full%20Disclosure/MBTA%2 -
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Rapid increase in tie failures
Winter 2008-2009 -- Track inspectors observe a rapid increase in the number of concrete tie failures along both Old Colony lines. Workers are quietly dispatched to replace broken ties on evenings and weekends, with no service interruptions or public announcements. -
Rocla refuses to honor its warranty
Dec. 5, 2008 -- In a letter to Rocla and its lawyers, MBTA demands the company honor its warranty. The company refuses, according to the suit. Officials have told CommonWealth that Rocla threatened to file bankruptcy if they are forced to stand behind the warranty. -
Lab tests determine ties are defective
Spring, 2009 -- Lab tests determine concrete ties are defective because of manufacturer design error. -
CW magazine begins investigation
April, 2009 -- CommonWealth magazine begins making inquiries about the faulty ties after a reporter observes some broken concrete along the side of the tracks while riding the commuter rail. MBTA officials, including then-General Manager Daniel Grabauskas, do not return calls for comment and decline comment when interviewed at public events. -
Lawyers for the T notify Rocla of intent to file suit
May 21, 2009 -- Lawyers at the powerful Boston law firm Ropes & Gray LLP, send a notice to Rocla outlining their position and the intent to file suit. -
Aloisi admits ties are a growing problem
June, 2009 -- Then-Transportation Secretary James Aloisi admits the defective ties are a growing problem and acknowledges Rocla’s threat to shield itself with bankruptcy. -
T spokesman says problems with ties are minimal
June, 2009 -- In its first response to calls and emails for comments over several months, T spokesman Joe Pesaturo says problems with ties are minimal and do not affect schedule or safety. “To date, railroad personnel have identified problems with less than 4,000 of the more than 150,000 concrete ties on Old Colony,” Pesaturo writes despite T officials being told a year earlier all ties would need to be replaced. -
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MBTA increases slow orders along Old Colony lines
Summer-Fall 2009 -- MBTA increases the number of slow orders along the Old Colony lines and increases the pace of replacing defective ties. -
CW releases summer issue
July, 2009 -- CommonWealth, in its Summer issue, first reports the story about extent of the problem and, using industry estimates and other similar projects, pegs the cost at nearly $100 million. T officials dispute the estimates of cost and how many ties are affected. -
Dan Grabauskas resigns
Aug., 2009 -- Grabauskas resigns as T general manager, unrelated to tie issue. -
T spokesman says there is no widespread problem
Sept., 2009 -- Pesaturo continues to insist there is no widespread problem with the concrete ties while announcing bus service will be used during non-peak hours on the Middleborough line so workers can replace broken ties. He also says Rocla is expected to pay for the ties. “There are about 147,000 ties on Old Colony. Inspectors have identified fewer than 7,000 that need to be replaced,” Pesaturo writes. -
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T officials begin preparing bid documents
Winter, 2010 -- MBTA officials quietly begin preparing bid documents and procuring 187,000 wooden ties to replace all concrete ties on the Old Colony lines, according to a briefing for legislators. -
Richard Davey takes over as GM
March 22, 2010 -- Richard Davey, general manager of MBCR, is tapped to take over as T general manager. -
T announces it will replace all ties
April 9, 2010 -- Davey announces MBTA will replace all 147,500 defective Rocla ties on the Old Colony lines over the next two years. Buses will be used to transport commuters during nonpeak hours. The Greenbush line, which does not have apparent defective ties, will also be affected when ties are replaced along the Braintree-to-Boston stretch. Commuter on all three lines will have to take the Red Line from Braintree. -
CW obtains letter to legislators
April 26, 2010 -- CommonWealth obtains a letter from Davey to South Shore lawmakers pegging the cost of the replacement ties at $91.5 million, which will be paid through revenue bonds while the T pursues a settlement with Rocla and seeks federal money. -
T files suit against Rocla
May 4, 2010 -- MBTA files suit in Suffolk Superior Court against Rocla seeking treble damages for the $91.5 million cost of replacing the ties.