Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, the
lead design firm for Boston’s $14.6 billion “Big Dig” highway
project, said that inspections of the project’s Interstate
93 tunnel revealed three more flawed panels, and that repairs will
begin within a few weeks.
Keith Sibley, program manager for Bechtel, said in a press
conference in Boston that his team found three more panels
in the I93 tunnel walls that would need “minor repairs.” The
company inspected 130 panel walls over the last week and 1,250 of
the tunnel’s 2,000 panels to date.
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Bechtel agreed to conduct the inspections and make repairs
after water broke through tunnel walls in September, resulting in
flooding and closure of the northbound lane of I-93. Earlier this
year, fireproofing material fell from the tunnel’s ceiling onto
the highway, raising more concerns about driver safety.
Two of the wall panels will require major repairs, Sibley
said, which could cost the company as much as $500,000. Nineteen
walls require “modest repair,” while 37 of them will need
patches, according to Sibley, adding that the tunnel is safe for
drivers.
Boston’s Mayor Thomas Menino said that the
public “is unsure” of the safety of the tunnel, and that he will
attempt to form a team of engineers who aren’t “connected with
any of the contractors” on the project to conduct their own
investigation into tunnel safety.
“I think MIT and probably Harvard have experts that could
really dig into the real problems of the Big Dig,” referring to
handling of the issues as “political football.” Menino added
that he “passed the word” around when asked if he had spoken
about it to state officials.
Bloomberg News
