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Feb 20, 2008 7:35 am US/Eastern
Big Dig Tunnel Design Makes Inspections Impossible
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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The Ted Williams Tunnel.
CBS
The promised "stem to stern" safety review of the Big Dig is being hindered by the design of the Ted Williams Tunnel, which makes access to thousands of bolts impossible.
In a Tuesday news conference, inspectors said they can't test the strength of about 4,000 epoxy bolts supporting the tunnel's ceiling because there is no crawl space. The area represents one fourth of the 16,000 bolts that hold up the tunnel's ceiling system.
Inspectors are now trying to figure out a solution. One option they're considering is using some sort of camera scope to get a closer look at the bolts.
The review was promised by former Gov. Mitt Romney following a ceiling collapse in a connector tunnel in July 2006 that killed Milena Del Valle and injured her husband.
The collapse was blamed on dozens of loose epoxy bolts that let go inside the tunnel. Those same bolts are embedded throughout the Big Dig project and need to be inspected to test their strength.
Gary Klein of Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, which is leading the review, told the Boston Herald that the bolts do not appear to pose a safety threat because of redundancies built in to the ceiling's design.
Big Dig officials say lighter ceiling panels and the proper epoxy were used in the Ted Williams Tunnel, compared to the tunnel where the collapse occurred.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
