Constant water leaks into the Big Dig tunnels are causing safety problems and tens of millions of dollars in damage -
Constant water leaks into the Big Dig tunnels are causing safety problems and tens of millions of dollars in damage, including corroded electrical systems and flooded air vents, and have even begun to damage the enormous steel girders that support the Tip O’Neill Tunnel, according to an internal report by the Big Dig’s chief engineer obtained by the Globe.
But the April report, intended to brief a new top deputy to Transportation Secretary Jeffrey B. Mullan, was extensively rewritten at transportation headquarters, where staff reduced the seven-page report by two-thirds. The shortened report covered most of Helmut Ernst’s major points, but left out much of the detail on the present and future cost of repairs and omitted some specific warnings by Ernst about the potential threat of the ongoing leaks to the safety and long-term structural integrity of the tunnels.
By the time new highway administrator Frank DePaola briefed the transportation board of directors on the issue this month, he likened the major leaks to the water from “three garden hoses’’ and stressed that “the tunnels are safe.’’
Ernst’s report does not say the tunnels are unsafe, but voices more alarm at the potential risks of the leaks. The report was written after a corroded 110-pound light fixture crashed Feb. 8 in the O’Neill Tunnel, revealing widespread corrosion in lights throughout the 7.5-mile Big Dig tunnel system. Ernst’s report makes it clear that the fallen light is part of a much larger problem: the salty ground water that seeps in through cracks and other openings in the tunnels.
“Tunnel leaks are a more vexing problem as they are widespread throughout the tunnel and are the cause of safety concerns and [have] a damaging effect on the tunnel structure and equipment,’’ wrote Ernst.
Ernst listed more than $150 million in immediate leak repair and prevention projects and stressed that potentially more-costly leak repairs lie ahead, including extensive excavation to repair major cracks in one tunnel. He has previously said that replacing and rewiring corroded tunnel lights could cost $200 million.
Read more -
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/07/24/report_cites_costs_risks_of_big_dig_leaks/?s_campaign=8315
Constant water leaks into the Big Dig tunnels are causing safety problems and tens of millions of dollars in damage, including corroded electrical systems and flooded air vents, and have even begun to damage the enormous steel girders that support the Tip O’Neill Tunnel, according to an internal report by the Big Dig’s chief engineer obtained by the Globe.
But the April report, intended to brief a new top deputy to Transportation Secretary Jeffrey B. Mullan, was extensively rewritten at transportation headquarters, where staff reduced the seven-page report by two-thirds. The shortened report covered most of Helmut Ernst’s major points, but left out much of the detail on the present and future cost of repairs and omitted some specific warnings by Ernst about the potential threat of the ongoing leaks to the safety and long-term structural integrity of the tunnels.
By the time new highway administrator Frank DePaola briefed the transportation board of directors on the issue this month, he likened the major leaks to the water from “three garden hoses’’ and stressed that “the tunnels are safe.’’
Ernst’s report does not say the tunnels are unsafe, but voices more alarm at the potential risks of the leaks. The report was written after a corroded 110-pound light fixture crashed Feb. 8 in the O’Neill Tunnel, revealing widespread corrosion in lights throughout the 7.5-mile Big Dig tunnel system. Ernst’s report makes it clear that the fallen light is part of a much larger problem: the salty ground water that seeps in through cracks and other openings in the tunnels.
“Tunnel leaks are a more vexing problem as they are widespread throughout the tunnel and are the cause of safety concerns and [have] a damaging effect on the tunnel structure and equipment,’’ wrote Ernst.
Ernst listed more than $150 million in immediate leak repair and prevention projects and stressed that potentially more-costly leak repairs lie ahead, including extensive excavation to repair major cracks in one tunnel. He has previously said that replacing and rewiring corroded tunnel lights could cost $200 million.
Read more -
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/07/24/report_cites_costs_risks_of_big_dig_leaks/?s_campaign=8315
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