BOSTON (AP) – The U.S. House Committee on Government Reform will come to Boston in January to hold a hearing on widespread water leaks in the $14.6 billion Big Dig project, according to U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, a member of the committee.

The congressional committee, which has subpoena powers, is the same panel that held hearings on the Boston FBI’s ties to its confidential informants.

“I feel certain we’ll get full cooperation from the witnesses and if not, we are prepared to subpoena them,” said Lynch, who predicted the hearing would take place during the first week of the new year.

Lynch, D-Boston, a former ironworker, toured the Big Dig late Tuesday night with U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano. He declared the massive tunnel project structurally sound but said there are questions that need to be answered.

“Where did these mistakes originate and who will ultimately pay?” Lynch asked. “We just don’t want taxpayers to foot the bill.”

Lynch said on Wednesday that U.S. Rep. Tom Davis, a Virginia Republican, has agreed to the hearing.

The Big Dig, the largest highway project in U.S. history, has been mired in new controversy recently, due to the revelation of hundreds of small leaks in the tunnel that have gone unreported for years.

Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, the private consortium managing the project, has said that leaks are to be expected anytime construction occurs under the water table. Project managers say the leaks will cease once the project is completely finished, probably sometime later next year, and the tunnels are sealed.

Angry public officials, however, have demanded answers for why this engineering marvel, which buried Interstate 93 underneath downtown Boston, seems to have some major flaws.

Gov. Mitt Romney has called for the resignation of Matthew Amorello, chairman of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, which oversees the Big Dig. Amorello, whose contract lasts until 2007, has refused to resign and cannot be fired from his position at the independent authority.

AP-ES-11-24-04 1714EST