Panel panic: Officials cite 60 trouble spots
By Casey Ross
Boston Herald Reporter
Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - Updated: 03:07 PM EST
Big Dig officials have discovered more than 60 compromised ceiling panels in the I-90 tunnel where a woman was killed Monday, raising the specter of widespread defects in all corners of a tunnel where investigators are methodically gathering evidence in a criminal probe.
In sporadic locations throughout the tunnel, inspectors found loose steel plates and bolts that connected 3-ton concrete ceiling panels to the roof of the tunnel structure, officials said today. The exact number of compromised panels remains unknown, but officials said they have found 60 in the eastbound side and more in the westbound and HOV lanes.
Engineers are evaluating (the panels) now as we speak and the appropriate recommendations will be made on whether to secure them, replace them or take them down, Massachusetts Turnpike Authority Project Director Michael Lewis said. Thats all dependent on the analysis.
The discovery of widespread problems with the tunnel ceiling along with the demands of cataloguing evidence for the criminal probe have forced project officials to indefinitely postpone reopening of the I-90 connector.
Big Dig boss Matthew Amorello who continues to rebuff calls for his resignation said today he could not provide a timeline for bringing the I-90 tunnel back in service. He said the Turnpike Authority will conduct a complete re-inspection of the entire Boston metropolitan highway system inside of Route 128. That includes everything from the Big Dig tunnels, to the Callahan and Sumner Tunnels, to bridges and highways across eastern Massachusetts.
Were doing everything possible to ensure that the event that occurred Monday doesnt ever happen again, Amorello said today.
Turnpike Authority officials have called on the Big Digs private managers, Bechtel/ Parsons Brinckerhoff, to complete a report detailing the design and construction decisions made when the I-90 connector tunnel was being built between 1999 and 2001. Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, which had responsibility for design and quality assurance on the project, has not appeared at any press conferences and has only issued a brief statement expressing condolences and pledging cooperation with investigators.
Turnpike Authority officials said the materials used to construct ceilings in the connector tunnel were less expensive than those used to build the Ted Williams Tunnel, which was built in a similar fashion but used concrete encased in metal for the ceiling panels.
Officials refused to categorize the nature of the defects found during visual inspections of the I-90 connector, other than to say that in more than 60 locations they found panels compromised by loose bolts or support plates used to hang the ceilings from the tunnel roof.
Amorello said the firms responsible for the defects will held financially responsible for repairs.
