In London, subway construction has been blamed for a three-millimeter tilt in Big Ben, prompting one wag to note that England had its own "Leaning Tower of London." In Munich, Germany, a bus plunged into a sinkhole above tunneling, killing four people. And in Buffalo, N.Y., a tunnel wall that was supposed to be a foot wide turned out to be 2 1/2 inches in some spots.

Things happen.

That at least has been the message from local transit officials in recent months as a state Senate committee prepared to convene today's hearing on the Los Angeles subway. A growing list of problems--from thin tunnel walls and sinking streets to tainted contracts and criminal investigations--have threatened to derail the project for good.

"No one anywhere has ever built a system of this size and complexity without difficulties," Metropolitan Transportation Authority chief Franklin E. White said recently, echoing an assertion he has made with increasing frequency as the project's political fortunes have waned.

Well, yes and no.

Some cities have built subways of incredible complexity with only minor blemishes. Others have experienced serious problems. But few have run into such major roadblocks, vying with Los Angeles for the title of the most infamous public works project in the nation.

"Tunneling is a very tricky business," said Richard Gallagher, retired chief engineer of the defunct Southern California Rapid Transit District. But, he said, "this project has been plagued with an unusual amount of trouble."

After subway construction was blamed for causing portions of Hollywood Boulevard to sink up to 10 inches last year, a project official remarked that tunneling projects in other cities "all experienced not just sinkages, but actual surface collapses, something the management of the Red Line has been able to prevent."

He spoke too soon. Just a few months later, Hollywood Boulevard caved in.

$5.8-Billion Project

The $5.8-billion, 22-mile subway project is one of the costliest public works projects in U.S. history. It dwarfs the $4-billion State Water Project, which included a 444-mile aqueduct from Northern California to Southern California built during the 1960s and early 1970s. In a project of this scale, some unforeseen setbacks are sure to develop.