Big Dig: Collapse

[lofter1]

Woman killed in Boston Big Dig tunnel fall

Kansas City Star (http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/15012056.htm)
KEN MAGUIRE
Associated Press

BOSTON - Three-ton concrete panels fell from the ceiling of the city's Big Dig tunnel, killing a woman in a car and shutting down a section of the massive building project that has become both a central route through the city and a source of construction concerns and cost overruns.

The woman was a passenger in a car hit by debris from the ceiling late Monday, authorities said. A man believed to be the driver was able to squeeze out and was taken to a hospital with minor injuries, authorities said.

Authorities say safety has not been compromised by problems with the $14 billion Big Dig highway project, which buried Interstate 93 beneath downtown and extended the Massachusetts Turnpike to Logan Airport.

Massachusetts State Police said that stretch would be closed indefinitely while authorities clean up debris and inspect the area.

In a news conference early Tuesday, Massachusetts Turnpike Authority Chairman Matthew Amorello said the ceiling collapse was caused by a steel tieback giving way. The tieback held a 40-foot ceiling section in place over Interstate 90.

"There was a snapping sound heard," Amorello said. "One of the tile panels from the roof released. It caused a series of panels to be released."

Amorello said he's confident there is only one 200-foot section of the Big Dig project where the type of tieback that failed was used. Those ceiling panels were erected in 1999 and the contractor was Modern Continental, he said.

In that section, the tiebacks are bolted to a concrete ceiling.

"Any responsible party will be held accountable for what happened," Amorello said. "This is an unacceptable, horrible tragedy."

There was no answer at Modern Continental's office on Tuesday morning before business hours.

The accident happened about 200 feet from the end of the connector tunnel. The site is near the entrance to the Ted Williams Tunnel, which goes under Boston Harbor to Logan International Airport.

Shortly after the accident, at least three large pieces of debris, tilted slightly at one side, were lying across a lane of the roadway about 100 feet from the end of the connector tunnel.

There have been water leaks in parts of the tunnel system and at least one incident when smaller amounts of dirt and debris from an airshaft in another section of the tunnel system fell onto travel lanes, causing minor damage to cars.

In May, prosecutors charged six current and former employees of a concrete supplier with fraud for allegedly concealing that some concrete delivered to the Big Dig was not freshly mixed.

State and federal officials said any effects on maintenance would likely be long-term, and did not pose an immediate safety threat.

Amorello said preliminary investigation shows that the quality of the concrete was not to blame for the fatal accident Monday night.

Copyright (http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/contact_us/copyright)

[lofter1]

CNN (http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/07/11/bigdigdeath.ap/index.html)

http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2006/US/07/11/bigdigdeath.ap/story.tunnelclps.ap.jpg
Firefighters inspect part of a tunnel ceiling
in Boston that collapsed Monday night and killed a woman.

[finnman69]

CNN (http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/07/11/bigdigdeath.ap/index.html)

http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2006/US/07/11/bigdigdeath.ap/story.tunnelclps.ap.jpg
Firefighters inspect part of a tunnel ceiling
in Boston that collapsed Monday night and killed a woman.
I think they replaced the Queens midtown with a precast ceiling.

[stache]

Yikes.

[Jasonik]

Collapse Slideshow (http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/gallery/big_dig_ceiling_collapse)

Officials React Slideshow (http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/gallery/officialsreacttobigdigcollapse)

[Jasonik]

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http://news.bostonherald.com/galleries/images/661038_tunnelk.jpeg.jpg
Emergency crews prepare to remove the crushed car trapped underneath
steel ceiling plates of the I-90 E extension tunnel.(Herald photo by Matthew West)

http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/Globe_Photo/2006/07/12/1152700317_8948.jpg
An FBI investigator pointed to an anchor bolt while investigating the debris
in the tunnel yesterday. (Essdras M. Suarez/ Globe Staff)

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Workmanship and design of tunnel are called into question
Problems with bolts, glue found in other tunnel in '98
By Scott Allen and Sean P. Murphy, Globe Staff | July 12, 2006

Investigators unraveling how concrete ceiling panels cascaded onto a car in one of the Big Dig tunnels should focus on some basic, troubling questions about the way the tunnel ceiling was built, civil engineers and highway construction specialists said yesterday.

Officials from the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority suspect that the accident that killed Milena Del Valle began with the failure of a single steel hanger that helped hold up the concrete ceiling, setting off a chain reaction that caused other hangers to fail and send 12 tons of concrete to the highway surface as Del Valle's husband drove underneath.

Now, federal and state investigators are looking into the possibility that there was some defect in the way the hangers were manufactured or secured to the roof of the tunnel connecting the turnpike to the Ted Williams Tunnel. A 1998 report from the state Office of the Inspector General documented numerous problems with the bolts and glue used to secure the ceiling in the Ted Williams Tunnel, including the use of bolts that were too short and trouble with an epoxy used to glue the bolts into the concrete.

The inspector general's report was written before construction of the ceiling section that later collapsed, and it's not clear whether the same methods were used. However, Governor Mitt Romney said the report should have served as a warning.

``That would suggest to a layperson like myself that a very high degree of care should have been taken in inspecting that section of the ceiling, and I don't know whether that care was given or not," said Romney, referring to the I-90 connector tunnel at an afternoon press conference.

The tunnel section was inspected before it opened to the public in January 2003 and another inspection was ``in the process" when the accident happened, Turnpike Authority chairman Matthew J. Amorello said yesterday. He said turnpike records from Modern Continental, the company that built the tunnel, show that the hangers were individually inspected and tested when completed.

Big Dig officials say there is no indication of a link between the ceiling collapse and previous problems such as leaks and use of inferior concrete.

Civil engineers said the questions must go beyond the quality of workmanship to the tunnel's design: Why were the concrete panels so heavy, weighing 2 1/2 to 3 tons apiece? Why were they there at all, since there was already a higher tunnel roof? And why did the failure of a single steel hanger send six to 10 of the slabs crashing down?

Initial reports from eyewitnesses and investigators indicate the accident began with a loud snap as a steel hanger gave way and the other three holding up a 40-foot steel bar couldn't handle the extra weight.

``I can't imagine anybody signing off on a design of suspending 3-ton concrete panels such that the failure of any one hanger would lead to 12 tons of concrete coming down on the highway," said Steve Banzaert , who teaches a course in ``spectacular failures in engineering" at MIT.

A spokesman for Modern Continental said the company would not answer specific questions. The company issued a statement saying it promised to cooperate with the investigation, while defending its workmanship. ``We are confident that our work fully complied with the plans and specifications provided by the Central Artery Tunnel Project," read the statement, adding that Big Dig officials inspected and approved the tunnel ceiling.

Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, the consultant that managed the design and construction of the project for 20 years, also promised to work with the Turnpike Authority to determine the cause.

The ceiling that collapsed -- inside the eastbound lane of I-90 under South Boston -- is structurally similar to a drop ceiling, with a lower ceiling suspended from the original one. However, instead of the light fiber panels used in homes, the drop ceiling in the Big Dig tunnel is composed of 20-by-40-foot slabs of concrete. The slabs rest on 40-foot-long steel bars that are suspended from the original concrete ceiling by steel hangers. The hangers are connected directly to the upper ceiling by a combination of bolts and glue.

Although such drop ceilings were built elsewhere in Big Dig tunnels, a 200-foot stretch where the accident occurred and the Ted Williams Tunnel have ceilings constructed differently from those in the rest of the connector and the Interstate 93 tunnel, which were built later, Amorello said. In the I-93 tunnel, a beam with ready-made steel connection points was embedded inside the concrete when it was poured to make it easier to suspend the ceiling. But in the affected section, crews didn't install the drop ceiling until 2000, five years after the original ceiling was built, forcing them to use another approach.

``They used this system of drilling in bolts and bolting it in with epoxy, and that's what we're investigating," Amorello said.

Michael P. Lewis , the state Big Dig project manager, said at a morning press conference that this was ``an approved method."

``It was actually the method used in the entire Ted Williams Tunnel," he said. ``It's a well-known way of attaching anchors to concrete structures."

One state official who has been briefed about the investigation said one focus is on whether ``a cheaper, quicker" ceiling design was approved by Big Dig officials for the turnpike section without adequate consideration of the possible consequences. The official is not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation.

This isn't the first time that investigators have looked at the quality of Big Dig drop ceilings. In 1998, Inspector General Robert A. Cerasoli said the project wasted $800,000 attaching hangers to the ceiling of the Ted Williams Tunnel because designers hadn't foreseen the need to attach hangers to the original concrete ceiling.

Although Cerasoli was focused on the needless cost of drilling and redrilling holes, he said yesterday that he is also concerned that low-quality work generally could have compromised tunnel safety. During construction, Cerasoli's report says, the contractors had trouble with the epoxy -- workers didn't give it time to cure properly or improperly cleaned holes, and the epoxy's manufacturer suspected the contractor was not mixing it properly. In a first set of tests, eight bolts failed out of 50.

Peter Zuk , the former state Big Dig director, had promised in a written response to the report to use a better way of fastening the steel hangers in the future, but the letter didn't describe the changes, and it was unclear yesterday whether they happened. However, Modern Continental's contract was modified several times in 1999, at a cost of almost $600,000, to allow for changes in the installation of ``adhesive anchors for ceiling struts" in the I-90 tunnel, according to state records.

``They really ought to have an independent group come in and evaluate all of these tunnels," said Cerasoli, inspector general from 1991 to 2001.

One construction industry specialist said he questioned whether the drop ceiling in the turnpike tunnel was needed at all. Turnpike officials said yesterday that the drop ceiling was needed to improve the flow of fresh air into the tunnel and move exhaust fumes out. But the specialist, who is familiar with the connector tunnel design but asked not to be identified, said the drop ceiling was there mainly for aesthetic reasons, to hide fans. He said the section is vented by open air entrance ramps only about 200 feet away.

Amorello said engineers will consider reopening the tunnel without any panels in the section where the accident occurred. He said that, if ``we can do without it, then we are going to do without it."

Gareth Cook of the Globe staff contributed to this report.

[kz1000ps]

This is what PaulC from ArchBoston has to say about it:

About a year before the big dig tunnel opened I got a private tour of the project from one of the quality engineers on the project. All he did was complain about the poor workmanship and inferior material they were using and how every time he reported his findings he was ignored. Half way through the tour I decided he was some kind of malcontent. Guess I was wrong.

I would expect we are yet to find out how badly this project was done. Modern Continental had about 25 percent of the contracts.

[ryan]

Who thought a concrete drop ceiling was a good idea?

[kz1000ps]

The only functional property to the drop ceiling mentioned so far is found in the first graphic Jasonik posted -

"Concrete panels attached by metal tiebacks form a drop ceiling used to help ventilate the tunnel."

[stache]

If they wanted a drop ceiling I'm very surprised they didn't go with metal.

[OmegaNYC]

Man, this is such a sad story. I smell a BIG ass lawsuit coming.

[Jasonik]

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http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/Globe_Photo/2006/07/13/1152785403_1500.jpg
Workmen yesterday loaded steel panels onto a lift for installation,
while behind them lay a section of a concrete panel and its supports that
had been removed from the I-90 connector. (George Rizer/ Globe Staff)

Need for heavy panels was debated

By Scott Allen, Globe Staff | July 13, 2006

The engineer who oversaw completion of the Interstate 90 connector said in an interview with the Globe yesterday that he questioned the need for heavy concrete panels in the tunnel's drop ceiling when he came on the job, but that he didn't press the issue with senior Big Dig officials, because the ceiling work was already well underway and he was persuaded it was being done safely.

Several of the 2 1/2- to 3-ton slabs crashed to the roadway Monday night, killing a 38-year-old mother of three and closing the tunnel indefinitely.

Officials of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority said yesterday that the concrete panels were part of the tunnel's ventilation system and needed to be heavy to remain still when powerful fans operated at full power.

But some have questioned whether the slabs were needed at all, since their main purpose was to improve air circulation and fresh air was already entering at the entrance to the tunnel 200 feet away.

James Bruno, who served as project manager for Modern Continental on the $91 million contract to complete the connector tunnel, said that he and other construction managers suggested in meetings with Big Dig officials using lighter material for the ceiling, pointing out that the side walls of the tunnel are made of thin metal.

``You're just controlling air here; you don't need heavy concrete slabs," said Bruno, now a senior project manager at Beacon Consulting Group.

But he said senior Big Dig officials were not interested in using a lighter material, because doing so would have required many more supports to prevent the ceiling from vibrating. A lighter material is generally less sturdy and more likely to shift in the face of wind or vibration from traffic.

``When I came to the job, it was roughly 30 percent done," Bruno said. ``They were already doing it this way . . . So I stepped in and said OK. "

He said he dropped the issue after he saw that work crews were doing a careful job installing the ceiling, testing many of the bolts with a device that pulls on them to test their resistance.

Bruno stressed that he feels the tunnel was built safely, in spite of Monday's accident. ``It was excellent people doing excellent work," he said.

``We really tried to do the highest quality job and the safest job," said Bruno, adding that all the workers were well aware that the tunnel ceiling would be suspended over people's heads for decades to come. ``There were no shortcuts."

A number of government agencies are focusing on whether shoddy workmanship or design flaws in building the ceiling contributed to the accident. Much of the attention has focused on durability of the bolts-and-glue combination that hold up the steel frame on which the concrete ceiling panels rest.

The drop ceiling in the nearby Ted Williams Tunnel is affixed to the actual ceiling in a similar fashion, but Turnpike Authority officials said yesterday that panels in the connector tunnel ceiling were at least six times heavier than ones used in the Ted Williams Tunnel, which were a thin composite of metal and concrete that weighed about 800 pounds each.

But Michael P. Lewis, the state's Big Dig project manager, said during a press conference yesterday that the panels in the I-90 connector needed to be heavy for stability in the face of ``hurricane force winds" generated by fans near the roof of the tunnel. In an emergency, such as a tunnel fire, Lewis said, the fans would be turned up to maximum velocity to bring in fresh air, requiring a heavy drop ceiling that would not vibrate.

``We all know from watching the Weather Channel what happens to something like a piece of plywood or something light in hurricane force winds," Lewis explained.

The air flow is less forceful in the Ted Williams Tunnel, Lewis said, and its drop ceiling was primarily for aesthetics.

Now that the concrete panels are all being removed from the connector tunnel as part of the safety review, Turnpike Authority chairman Matthew J. Amorello has said he will consider reopening the tunnel without any drop ceiling at all. Some industry observers have said all along that the drop ceiling was mainly cosmetic, concealing the fans from the drivers below.

As project manager for the last phase of connector tunnel construction, Bruno was primarily responsible to keep the work running smoothly and as close to schedule as possible, rather than to change design of the project.

Ultimately, the tunnel opened to the public in 2003, and final construction work was completed in late 2004, more than a year behind schedule. However, Bruno said the time pressure didn't affect the quality of the work on the drop ceiling.

``We knew it was going to be hanging over the roadway," he said. ``We didn't fool around."

Scott Allen can be reached at allen@globe.com.

[Jasonik]

Thursday, July 13, 2006
Engineers find 240 more “suspect bolts” in tunnel
By Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondent

Engineers investigating the collapse of the Interstate 90 connector tunnel said this afternoon that they have found about 240 more "suspect bolts" securing concrete ceiling tiles similar to those that fell Monday night and crushed a woman to death.

In some areas, inspectors have found a gap of at least 1/16 of an inch between the steel hangers and concrete, according to Michael P. Lewis, the state's Big Dig project director.

“It may not be a failure,” Lewis said, speaking at an afternoon press conference. “It may just be a natural gap.”

Massachusetts Turnpike Authority Chairman Matthew J. Amorello said workers have already removed 12 sections of the concrete tiles and plan to remove tiles from another 20 areas in the eastbound and high occupancy lanes.

Officials did not give a timetable for how long the tunnel would remain closed and said it may open in sections, a process that could take weeks.

The 200-foot tunnel, which links Interstate 93 to the Ted Williams Tunnel, has been closed since late Monday night. Bolts in the ceiling failed and 12 tons of concrete cascaded into the tunnel and crushed a car, killing Milena Del Valle, 38. Her husband, Angel Del Valle, 46, escaped with minor injuries.

Officials said that all the sections of the tunnel with the problem bolts have been closed since the accident.

Earlier today, Secretary of Transportation John Cogliano said that the ceiling above the westbound lanes in the connector tunnel was in “worse shape” than the concrete ceiling panels above the eastbound lanes.

Cogliano made the remark at a press conference at which Governor Mitt Romney announced he was filing emergency legislation to take control of the investigation of the Big Dig tunnels, a move that has support of legislative leaders.

Romney said he wants inspectors and engineers examining the connector tunnel to report to Cogliano, instead of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.

“We want to have our personnel watching on site, making a determination as far as go or no go as far as the tunnel re-opening,” Romney said. He added: “The current leadership of the turnpike authority has lost public confidence, pure and simple.”

Romney wants to take control of both the immediate investigation of the ceiling system and a longer term inspection of the entire Big Dig tunnel system. The governor said he wants access to Turnpike Authority records, designs and inspections.

Romney’s legislation calls for $20 million to complete a “stem to stern” safety audit of the entire Central Artery/Tunnel project. The measure would take effect immediately if passed by the Legislature.

Posted by the Boston Globe City & Region Desk at 06:05 PM

[ablarc]

Amorello's head's about to roll. Who says we don't do beheadings in this country?

[BrooklynRider]

Hmmm... So, how's traffic in Boston these days?

[czsz]

It takes four times as long to get anywhere. You have to roll through tiny surface streets in the centre of the city to get to the old airport tunnels, and unpredictable road closures tend to be conveniently timed for the start of rush hour. Every intersection has a coterie of police. It's been a fun few days here.

[Jasonik]

http://news.bostonherald.com/siteImages/news_adlogo.gif (http://news.bostonherald.com/)
NTSB team coming to Hub tonight
By Julie Mehegan/ Breaking news
Thursday, July 13, 2006 - Updated: 06:51 PM EST

The federal agency that investigates plane crashes and train derailments is sending a six-person civil engineering team to Boston tonight in the wake of the Big Dig ceiling collapse that killed a Jamaica Plain woman on Monday.
An aide to U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Somerville) said the National Transportation Safety Board is sending the director of its highway safety group along with the engineering team.
It is unclear exactly what role the NTSB team will play at this stage of the investigation into the collapse of the ceiling in the I-90 connector tunnel. Earlier today, Capuano wrote to the agency seeking an independent inquiry into the deadly collapse. Capuano said the letter was signed by the entire congressional delegation.
“I can’t think of anybody who doesn’t have a conflict, or the appearance of a conflict,” Capuano said earlier today. “This is the only agency I can think of.”
NTSB is an independent government agency that investigates transportation disasters. Agency officials could not be reached for comment.

[Jasonik]

Problems not new for the project's largest contractor
By Christopher Rowland, Globe Staff | July 14, 2006

Modern Continental Construction Co. has performed work that resulted in some of the Big Dig's highest-profile problems: chronic tunnel leaks, defective walls, and now a flawed ceiling that fell and killed an automobile passenger Monday, rocking public confidence in the safety of the $14.6 billion tunnel complex.

It has been a long road for a company that got its start building sidewalks in Peabody in the 1960s, then grew into the biggest contractor on the Big Dig and one of the largest construction companies in the country. But its rapid growth faltered; the company was close to a bankruptcy filing; and it lost its independence. Now its road and heavy construction business has been tarnished by the very project that fueled its success.

Authorities have not established whether design or construction or both are to blame for the ceiling collapse. But Jordan Levy , a former board member of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority who was highly critical of the project during his tenure, said Modern Continental's deep financial problems, cost overruns, and poor workmanship have left a lasting legacy.

``The general public will see them as responsible for doing shoddy workmanship on this project that caused the death of a person and destroyed the credibility of this project," he said.

Since Monday's accident that killed Milena Del Valle, 38, of Jamaica Plain, Modern Continental has declined to make executives available for interviews. In a prepared statement, the company said it performed its job correctly and followed design specifications.

State Senator Marc R. Pacheco -- chairman of the Senate Post Audit and Oversight Committee, which authored a blistering critique of Big Dig supervisors in 2004 -- said Modern Continental's performance is part of a broader pattern of oversight problems on the project that resulted in substandard work.

While Pacheco's 2004 committee report focused much of its ire on the project manager and designer, Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff , the contractors performing the work also share the blame, Pacheco said. He cited a cozy atmosphere between state supervisors and the designers and contractors hired by the state.

``There was less-than-arms-length relationships between the hierarchy that was overseeing the Big Dig and the contractors that were doing work on the job," including Modern Continental, he said.

Andrew Paven , spokesman for Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, declined to comment.

Modern Continental has collected an estimated $4 billion in Big Dig contracts since the early 1990s. Nonetheless, the company teetered at the edge of bankruptcy in 2004, the same year that the Big Dig sprang its biggest leaks and the public learned that some tunnel walls were poorly constructed.

The company had invested in a wide variety of businesses, from restaurants to healthcare, and has ventured into heavy construction projects as far away as California and Brazil, leading the Conservation Law Foundation and other groups monitoring the Big Dig to speculate that the company had become overextended.

To avoid a default and the resulting chaos it would inflict on the Central Artery project, the state helped arrange a merger with another large Big Dig contractor, Jay Cashman Inc. Cashman now controls Modern Continental, which still maintains its own corporate headquarters on Memorial Drive in Cambridge.

Strong support for the merger with Cashman came from Modern Continental's insurance carriers, which would have been left with the responsibility of hiring another contractor to finish the work.

The company was founded by Lelio ``Les" Marino with a $4,000 sidewalk contract in Peabody in 1967. But it was not until he won huge Big Dig contracts in the early 1990s by submitting exceptionally low bids that the company really grew. Just two months after state officials disclosed the merger in late 2004, Marino died after suffering from stomach cancer and heart problems.

Also in 2004, the state barred the company from bidding on major highway contracts because of delays in another state project, the $400 million job to widen Route 3 from Route 128 to the New Hampshire border.

Under Marino's leadership, Modern Continental ran into a variety of other problems. In 1998, it agreed to pay $500,000 in penalties to state and federal authorities after a former MBTA resident engineer was indicted on charges of accepting free construction work and building materials from a vice president of Modern Continental who was Marino's nephew. As part of the settlement, Modern Continental agreed to set up a training program to teach business ethics to its employees.

On the Big Dig project, Modern Continental won state work with low bids but then returned to the state with demands for more money because costs were higher than expected.

In other cases, the state officials negotiated a series of global settlements of tens of millions of dollars with Modern Continental to handle the company's demands for additional funds. In 2002, the Globe reported that the company had received approximately $500 million in such contract changes, called change orders.

``It was like open feeding season for change orders," said Levy.

[Ninjahedge]

It is typical government contract BS.

There is a rule in private construction, get bids from a bunch of different qualified individuals with cost and familiarity with both the project and the owners being influential factors (one more public than the other, but still).

Any outrageously low or high bids, for essentially the same work, are thrown out and the other factors are weighted to try to get the most for their money.


I heard that with a lot of government contracts, certain laws were either made, or removed, that made it so that the cheapest bid won the project in an attempt to lower the budgets of many municipalities. This seemed to work only for the ones that enacted it, with cost overruns happening well after the start and possible repertory steps needed to be taken long after the people forgot who put in this "cost saving" measure.


The only cost saving I have seen work so far has been the completion bonus that some contracts have been awarded. If the project is completed up to spec AND ahead of schedule, the company stands to gain a substantial financial incentive. While these incentives may appear gross, you see what happens with the alternative.

I am crossing my fingers that something is figured out that will promote good work rather than getting ones foot in the door long enough to piss all over the peoples atrium.....

[Jasonik]

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Probe looks at possible problems with handling epoxy
By Scott Allen and Sean P. Murphy, Globe Staff | July 14, 2006

Investigators are focusing on the possibility that the failure of epoxy caused the ceiling collapse in the Interstate 90 connector tunnel Monday night.

Glue on bolts removed from the tunnel roof near the accident site was brittle and cracked, instead of having the consistency of smooth glass it should have had, according to a source briefed on the state investigation but not authorized to speak publicly. The decayed appearance may be a sign of premature aging.

Investigators are looking at problems Big Dig crews might have had in handling the epoxy, which requires a precise series of steps to get maximum holding power, according to the source.

The industrial-strength epoxy that was supposed to hold up the concrete ceiling is no ordinary glue. Used properly, it's actually stronger than concrete by some measures, and it's widely used in construction all over the world.

Typically, the epoxy comes in two cylinders, one containing resin and the other hardener, that must be mixed to create the glue on the spot. Workers installing the ceiling in the connector tunnel would have drilled holes into the concrete roof of the tunnel, squirted the epoxy ingredients inside, and then inserted a bolt. Once the epoxy had hardened and workers had tested it, they could suspend steel hangers from the bolt assembly, creating the frame that holds up the tunnel's drop ceiling.

In the past, ceiling bolts in the connector and in other Big Dig tunnels have failed safety tests because construction workers failed to mix the two epoxy ingredients correctly, didn't let it harden long enough, or failed to properly clean the surfaces being glued together, according to state reports.

In addition, moisture on the bolts or in drill holes could have weakened the epoxy, engineers said. The connector tunnel had water leaks in the roof in 2000, when the contractors were paid an additional $10,000 for cleanup, according to Big Dig documents. However, it is not clear whether the 2000 leaks were in the area of the accident.

``It was either a progressive decline in the strength of the epoxy or more stress was progressively put on the bolt fixture assembly than planned for," said Jeffrey C. Evans, head of the department of engineering at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania.

If manufactured and applied properly, industrial epoxies are strong enough to bear heavy loads for generations. A 1996 study by engineers at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa concluded that epoxy can hold a metal rod several times better than concrete. An official at Hilti USA of Oklahoma, a leading maker of industrial adhesives, said some adhesive anchors are designed to hold more than 100,000 pounds each, a far greater load than the 5,000- to 6,000-pound concrete panels in the connector ceiling.

The bolt-and-epoxy system for fastening the connector ceiling relied heavily on the strength of the glue because the bolt isn't screwed tightly into the concrete. The hole is deliberately larger than the bolt to allow room for the epoxy, which adheres to the concrete and the threads of the bolt.

The specifications for the kind of epoxy used in the tunnel ceiling would require a worker to use a masonry drill to leave a rough surface in the hole for better adherence, and the bolt would need to be free of grease. The worker would also need to clean out dust from the drill hole with a wire brush and high-powered air hose, acording to Paul J. Malinaric, a semi-retired physicist in Groton who worked for numerous industrial companies.

``It's a very exact protocol that has to be followed," he said.

In the past, crews constructing the drop ceiling in the nearby Ted Williams Tunnel sometimes fell short in following protocols, resulting in bolts that didn't hold strongly. In 1994, eight out of 50 bolts failed strength tests because of ``improper mixing of the epoxy," according to a 1998 report by the Massachusetts Inspector General.

Later in 1994, five out of 58 bolts in the Ted Williams Tunnel tested failed because crews didn't allow the epoxy to harden long enough, didn't use enough of the material, and didn't properly clean the drill holes.

As the ceiling was being installed in the connector tunnel, at least five bolts failed pull tests in 1999 to see if they were securely fastened, according to the attorney general's office. Investigators looking through construction logs this week found no indication the drill holes had been cleaned out by air hoses as required, and the source briefed on the state investigation said there is evidence workers improperly used water as a cleaner.

Gareth Cook of the Globe staff contributed to this report.

[Jasonik]

Three bolts had no glue, Reilly says
By Sean P. Murphy, Globe Staff | July 16, 2006

Three of the bolts that were supposed to hold up the three-ton concrete panel that fell and killed a 38-year-old Jamaica Plain woman on Monday night have been found to have no epoxy on them, Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly said in an interview yesterday.

Reilly's investigation is focusing on whether the epoxy used in the tunnel failed , or if construction workers who installed the bolts misused or omitted the epoxy .

The epoxy, a high-strength glue, was used to bond the load-carrying bolts to the concrete roof in drilled holes.

``This is the most important evidence in terms of the investigation right now," said Reilly, who spent much of yesterday at the tunnel site after attending a memorial service for Melina Del Valle, who was killed in the ceiling collapse.

Reilly said that so far, investigators have found 19 of the 20 bolts that were supposed to have attached the concrete panel to the roof. He said the investigators are using the recovered evidence to ``recreate the positioning" of the panel in an area near the tunnel.

While some of the bolts appear to have no epoxy on them, others showed an uneven distribution of epoxy , Reilly said. Some of the bolts are bent, he said.

Reilly said last week as the investigation unfolded that the bolts that once anchored the panels slipped out cleanly, as the panels plummeted.

This suggested that the epoxy used had not bonded properly. His comments yesterday gave the most details yet concerning evidence that may illuminate the cause of the fatal incident.

After the accident, much of the construction debris was hauled out of the roadway, along with the car in which Del Valle was a passenger.

Del Valle's husband survived and climbed out of the vehicle. Reilly quickly opened a criminal investigation into Del Valle's death and since Tuesday has overseen the gathering of evidence.

Reilly said that while the epoxy is one focus of the investigation, the probe is much broader in scope and includes an examination of the design of the ceiling panel system.

[Jasonik]

http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/Third_Party_Graphic/2006/07/18/1153205052_7828.gif

Romney details repair plan for tunnel ceiling
By Scott Allen, Globe Staff | July 18, 2006

Saying he has serious doubts about the safety of more than 1,100 hangers that hold up heavy concrete ceiling panels in the closed Interstate 90 connector tunnel, Governor Mitt Romney outlined an ambitious plan yesterday to reinforce or remove each of the steel rods.

He said the work would take two months or more, but that some heavily traveled ramps could reopen over the next two weeks.

State inspectors have concluded that 1,146 hangers suspended from the connector tunnel roof by bolts and epoxy are unreliable, including 225 hangers held in place with at least one bolt that is no longer flush with the roof, Romney said. Rather than remove most of the supports, he said, a European company will add a second support beside each suspect one.

The governor said the concrete panels will not be replaced in the 200-foot section where a ceiling collapse last week killed one woman, suggesting that they were unnecessary in the first place.

``Now we consider all of the bolts [held up by epoxy] . . . to be of concern," said Romney at a State House press conference that sometimes seemed like an engineering class, complete with the governor drawing ceiling bolts and hangers on an easel. ``We cannot have a high degree of confidence in any of them. . . . We are going to be creating redundancy for every single one."

He said inspections of connector ceiling support identified another 308 ``items of concern."

Romney also promised that inspectors would soon begin pull tests of some of the 12,040 hangers held up by epoxy and bolts in the Ted Williams Tunnel, though he expressed optimism that the ceiling is sturdier than that in the I-90 connector. He also promised daily visual inspections of the 60 hangers suspended by epoxy and bolts in the Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. Tunnel, until state officials can permanently reinforce or remove them.

Romney said state transportation officials haven't begun to estimate the cost of the repair work, but he said he made a pitch for federal assistance in a meeting yesterday with Senators Edward M. Kennedy and John F. Kerry and US Representative Michael E. Capuano.

``I'd be embarrassed if I didn't always ask for federal money whenever I got the chance," Romney quipped, saying he had asked for help in paying for a comprehensive safety review of the Big Dig, for which the state has allocated $20 million.

Romney said he had asked Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey to investigate the cost of the disruption on Massachusetts businesses. He said the cost of the tunnel accident must include everything from police overtime, estimated at $65,000 a day for Boston alone, to the lost tourism from people concerned about getting to and from the airport.

Designers of the $14.6 billion Big Dig project commonly included a drop ceiling in the tunnels to create an upper chamber away from the traffic where emergency workers could pump in fresh air quickly in the event of an emergency, such as a fire. In most cases, Romney said, the drop ceiling's hangers were bolted into a steel beam in the tunnel roof.

However, in dozens of locations, the steel attachment was not directly over the spot where workers needed to put the drop ceiling's frame, so they would drill a hole into the concrete roof, insert a bolt, and then glue it into place with a powerful epoxy. ``In a number of cases, you'll see an epoxy bolt right here and a steel connector is only 2 or 3 inches away," Romney said.

He said there were no embedded steel connectors in the roof of the 200-foot-long section where the ceiling collapsed, forcing crews to rely entirely on the bolt-and-epoxy system. As a result, that area was far more vulnerable than other tunnel ceilings when the epoxy began to prematurely age and fail, Romney said. It appears that 16 epoxy-and-bolt hangers let go in the accident that killed Milena Del Valle, he said.

To fix the problems, Romney said the Executive Office of Transportation has brought in Hilti, a leading maker of industrial adhesives based in Lichtenstein and with US offices in Oklahoma.

He said the company was to begin testing one of its products, called an undercut anchor bolt, last night on concrete similar to the roof of the I-90 connector tunnel. The anchor bolt, a 10-inch-long piece of steel, is inserted into concrete, and then a special attachment at the tip of the bolt expands to dig into the concrete and hold the bolt in place without using epoxy. The hanger for the drop ceiling would then be suspended from the bolt.

Where possible, Romney said, workers in the I-90 connector will add a second hanger beside suspect ones by attaching it to the embedded steel beam that previously went unused. ``That's the preferred system," Romney said. However, where that isn't practical, Romney said, crews would attach the extra support hangers to the undercut bolts from Hilti (http://www.us.hilti.com/holus/modules/prcat/prca_navigation.jsp?OID=-11560).

[kz1000ps]

Workers doubted ceiling method

Firm prevailed on fasteners despite tests
By Sean P. Murphy and Raja Mishra, Globe Staff | July 18, 2006

Field tests by construction workers indicated that bolt-and-epoxy fasteners might not support the multi-ton ceiling panels in the Interstate 90 connector tunnel, but the firm that designed the tunnel persuaded Big Dig officials to use the system anyway, law enforcement officials said yesterday.

At the same time, Big Dig officials became so confident in the epoxy used to secure the bolt fixtures that they canceled laboratory tests to regularly check if the high-strength glue was working properly, according to documents obtained by the Globe yesterday.

The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and lead management contractor Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff approved both decisions as the tunnel ceiling was built in 1999.

The massive investigation into last week's death of Milena Del Valle -- killed when concrete ceiling panels fell on her car -- has focused on the failure of the bolt-and-epoxy ceiling fixtures. Governor Mitt Romney said yesterday that tests completed over the weekend found that nearly all 1,150 bolt-and-epoxy ceiling fixtures in the I-90 connector tunnel were unreliable.

As the connector tunnel ceiling was under construction, Modern Continental Corp. workers expressed concerns after field tests indicated the bolt fixtures were unsound, law enforcement officials said.

The workers' concerns were sent to Modern Continental, which was building the tunnel; Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff; and the Turnpike Authority, which runs the Big Dig, the officials said.

The design firm, Gannett Fleming Inc., countered that its design was safe, the officials said. Although it was unclear how the debate played out, in the end, the Big Dig kept Gannett Fleming's design for the ceilings in the tunnel, which opened in January 2003.

"There were questions raised about whether this design was adequate to carry the weight and hold the weight that it's expected to hold," said Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly , who is leading an investigation into whether criminal charges are warranted in Del Valle's death. "That was clearly raised, and now we're at the stage of finding out what was the result of that dispute."

A Gannett Fleming official said he could not recall the debate.

"I am not aware of any details," Don Nicholas , a Gannett Fleming vice president who worked on the Big Dig, said in a telephone interview yesterday. "We have not gone back and looked at records. Right now, we are focused on helping out to get it fixed and the roadways back open."

Reilly said yesterday that he would continue to probe the dispute. His office has subpoenaed documents from Gannett Fleming, as well as Modern Continental, Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, and the Turnpike Authority.

Others had also questioned if the bolt-and-epoxy fixtures could hold the 2 1/2- to 3-ton ceiling panels.

James F. Bruno , who served as project manager for Modern Continental on the contract, told the Globe last week that in meetings with Big Dig officials, he and other construction managers suggested using a lighter material for the ceiling.

Big Dig officials refused, saying that lighter material would require more supports because it would vibrate more during heavy winds or traffic. The ceiling, suspended from the tunnel roof, created a ventilation path.

At about the same time this debate was unfolding in 1999, Big Dig officials decided that laboratory testing on the epoxy was no longer necessary, according to project documents.

Until then, the bonding strength of the epoxy used in the ceiling fixtures had been tested at a lab set up to check materials including concrete, steel, and waterproofing sealants. But "based on project experience and the resulting level of confidence," testing of "epoxies for anchoring" was waived, according to a May 26, 1999, memo sent out to engineers on the project.

"This revision has been reviewed and approved by" Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, state officials, and the Federal Highway Administration, the memo said.

A spokesman for Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff said the firm "is not in a position to comment because fact-gathering is just beginning." The Turnpike Authority did not respond to inquiries yesterday.

Robert Johnson , chief spokesman for the US Department of Transportation, said his agency "is reviewing years of records and decisions."

"It would be premature to comment on any particular document or documents," he said in a statement.

Glue on bolts removed from the tunnel roof near the accident site was brittle and cracked, not like smooth glass as it should have been, a source briefed on the state investigation but not authorized to speak publicly has told the Globe. Similar ceiling bolts in the Ted Williams Tunnel failed safety tests in 1994 because construction workers failed to mix the two epoxy ingredients correctly, didn't let it harden long enough, or failed to clean the surfaces being glued together, according to a state report.

Reilly disclosed the conflict over the design of the bolt-and-epoxy fasteners in a news conference after a tour of the Big Dig accident site, but would not release more information.

Documents obtained by the Globe also indicate that the design was questioned.

In the summer of 1999, Gannett Fleming made numerous revisions in its original fixture design, including one on July 8 that is described in Big Dig records as a change of the "project criteria for precast concrete ceiling system," indicating that the firm believed design changes were needed.

That revision request was made on the same day that the Modern Continental contract was modified due to "adhesive anchor failure" -- evidence that the fixtures failed tests in which devices pulled on the bolts to see if they would come loose.

The ongoing investigation is not the first time Gannett Fleming's work on the Big Dig has been questioned.

In 2004, Edward M. Ginsburg , the retired probate court judge who was then pursuing refunds for shoddy work on behalf of the state, filed breach of contract lawsuits against Gannett Fleming and eight other smaller design firms under the supervision of Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff.

Gannett Fleming's work on the Big Dig, including the I-90 connector tunnel, "contained numerous defects, errors and omissions," the lawsuit alleged..

[Ninjahedge]

Glue on bolts removed from the tunnel roof near the accident site was brittle and cracked, not like smooth glass as it should have been, a source briefed on the state investigation but not authorized to speak publicly has told the Globe. Similar ceiling bolts in the Ted Williams Tunnel failed safety tests in 1994 because construction workers failed to mix the two epoxy ingredients correctly, didn't let it harden long enough, or failed to clean the surfaces being glued together, according to a state report.

Reilly disclosed the conflict over the design of the bolt-and-epoxy fasteners in a news conference after a tour of the Big Dig accident site, but would not release more information.

'Nuff said.

The epoxy was not mixed properly, the holes were not cleaned/prepared right, and the material did not perform up to design spec.

I like how everyone starts pointing fingers at the "design firm" though. YES the design probably would have worked, but it is a shame that construction "mistakes" and "oversights" have to be a design consideration nowadays...

[ablarc]

"Big Dig" Collapse a Blow to Urban Dream

By Jason Szep Tue Jul 18, 2006

BOSTON (Reuters) - Boston's $15 billion "Big Dig" was meant to inspire awe, an engineering marvel on scale with the Panama Canal that would thrust U.S. cities into a new era.

Instead, it faces a crisis of public confidence after a fatal tunnel collapse that could derail plans for other U.S. urban mega-projects.

With 7.5 miles of underground highway and a 183-foot (56 meter) wide cable-stayed bridge, the Big Dig replaced an ailing elevated expressway to fix chronic congestion and reunite downtown Boston with its historic waterfront neighborhoods.

But cost overruns, leaks, delays, falling debris, criminal probes and charges of corruption plague the nearly completed 15-year project, giving ammunition to opponents of similar plans in other cities considering tearing down aging elevated highways built in a construction boom in the 1950s and 1960s.

Now, with motorists afraid to travel through Big Dig after a woman was killed last week by falling cement, those skeptics have their most persuasive case yet.

"When things leak and certainly when things fall down that aren't suppose to, clearly that undermines people's confidence in government's ability to deliver," said David Luberoff, a Harvard researcher and co-author of "Mega-Projects: The Changing Politics of Urban Public Investment."

Seattle, he said, will struggle to convince voters that replacing the earthquake-damaged Alaska Way Viaduct on its waterfront with a $3 billion to $3.6 billion tunnel is worth the cost. Brooklyn, whose waterfront could be transformed if an elevated expressway were buried, faces a similar problem.

RISKS

"The risks of building an urban tunnel are huge," said Cary Moon, a director at People's Waterfront Coalition, a Seattle-based organization that wants to prevent construction of a new highway on Seattle's waterfront.

"Given the very limited use our highways have relative to highways in Boston, it's just preposterous to think taking that risk and expense is necessary," he said.

Marianne Bichsel, a spokeswoman for Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, an advocate for building a tunnel, chafes at comparisons between Seattle's tunnel proposal and the Big Dig.

"It's a straightforward tunnel project. We are also not under any structures like there were in Boston," she said.

Luberoff doubts the Big Dig would have been built at all if the full costs were known at the start, and he reckons few U.S. cities will attempt such a grand project after Boston.

Burying the highway was originally estimated to cost $360 million in the 1970s. That ballooned to $2.5 billion in the 1980s, or $4 billion in today's dollars when factoring in inflation -- meaning the real costs quadrupled.

"The project has been like a nightmare," said former state Inspector General Robert Cerasoli, whose December 1998 report found widespread safety flaws in the project's Ted Williams Tunnel similar to those suspected in last week's collapse.

"Those problems are still sitting there," he said.

Still, many Bostonians praise the Big Dig while grumbling about its execution. About 260 acres of new parks, trees and sidewalks have been freed by it. The drive through Boston is faster than ever. Tourism has been given a boost.

"Every city would love to do it and almost every city could make a case for it," said Dan McNichol, author of "The Roads that Built America."

McNichol said other cities that could benefit from a Big Dig-style underground highway system include Philadelphia, where an elevated section of Interstate 95 divides the city from the Delaware River, and St. Louis, where Interstate 70 runs along the Mississippi River.

(Additional reporting by Daisuke Wakabayashi in Seattle)

[lofter1]

"Big Dig" Collapse a Blow to Urban Dream

... About 260 acres of new parks, trees and sidewalks have been freed by it.

What's the status of the ribbon park above the BD?


The drive through Boston is faster than ever.

Shouldn't that read "was faster" ;) :confused:

[ablarc]

What's the status of the ribbon park above the BD?
Due to tunnel failure, all work stopped by Governor.

Page after page of info on subject:

http://www.archboston.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=66&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

[Ninjahedge]

Those parks are athreat to public safety!!!!

:p

[ablarc]

Those parks are athreat to public safety!!!!

:p
Nothing a few tall buildings wouldn't cure.

[lofter1]

Part of Big Dig Tunnel Is Shut Down

NY TIMES (http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Big-Dig.html?hp&ex=1153454400&en=8fe770f018354929&ei=5094&partner=homepage)
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
July 20, 2006

BOSTON (AP) -- Gov. Mitt Romney ordered an immediate shutdown of the eastbound Ted Williams Tunnel Thursday after two problem bolts were spotted during inspections following the deadly collapse of ceiling panels in a nearby stretch of the city's Big Dig highway system.

Romney said state engineers had found two bolts in the Ted Williams Tunnel that appeared to have slipped 1/2 inch and 1 inch in one ceiling panel.

''It is perhaps an overreaction but we want to err on the side of public safety,'' Romney said at a news conference in which he said he was overruling an earlier finding by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority that the tunnel was safe.

State inspections of Boston's Big Dig tunnels began after 12 tons of cement ceiling panels fell on a car inside a connector tunnel on the night of July 10, killing 39-year-old Milena Del Valle.

The connector tunnel, a stretch of Interstate 90 that leads to the Ted Williams Tunnel, was shut down immediately, and inspections found hundreds of problem with bolts holding its ceiling panels in place.

The eastbound Ted Williams Tunnel, operating only since 1995, was also closed to the general public but it had been open to buses going to the airport. An initial assessment from the Turnpike Authority found no potential problems that rose to the level of a public safety threat, said Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom.

''We've gone back and looked at those areas, and based on what we've seen Gov. Romney is overruling that assessment and shutting down the eastbound section,'' Fehrnstrom said Thursday.

After the deadly collapse, engineers conducted ''pull tests'' on the ceiling panels in the connector tunnel and found hundreds of bolts secured with epoxy that were unreliable. A second tunnel ramp was closed for safety concerns, and crews began removing all the ceiling panels in the two.

The ceiling panels in the Ted Williams Tunnel are secured with a different system, and they weigh much less, about 800 pounds each compared to 3 tons.

Attorney General Tom Reilly has launched a criminal investigation and is considering whether involuntary manslaughter charges are warranted. His inspectors are focusing on how the concrete panels were designed, whether they were secured properly for their weight and if they were tested properly.

The $14.6 billion Big Dig buried the old elevated Central Artery under Boston.

Although it's been considered an engineering marvel, the most expensive highway project in U.S. history also has also been plagued by leaks, falling debris, cost overruns, delays and problems linked to faulty construction.


Copyright 2006 The Associated Press

[kz1000ps]

Memo warned of ceiling collapse


Safety officer feared deaths in '99, now agonizes over tragedy
By Sean P. Murphy, Globe Staff | July 26, 2006

The on-site safety officer for the Interstate 90 connector directly warned his superiors at contractor Modern Continental Construction Co. that the tunnel ceiling could collapse because the bolts could not support the heavy concrete panels, and feared for his conscience if someone died as a result.

John J. Keaveney -- in a starkly-worded two-page memo sent in 1999 to Robert Coutts, senior project manager for Modern Continental -- wrote that he could not "comprehend how this structure can withhold the test of time."

Keaveney added: "Should any innocent State Worker or member of the Public be seriously injured or even worse killed as a result, I feel that this would be something that would reflect Mentally and Emotionally upon me, and all who are trying to construct a quality Project."

Keaveney, in an interview last night, said that after he raised the concern, his superiors at Modern Continental, the company then building the tunnel, and representatives from Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, the private sector manager of the Big Dig, sought to reassure him. They told him that such a system had been tested and was proven to work.

He said Coutts told him, "'John, this is a tried and true method,' " he recalled. He also raised the concern in person with Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff officials in subsequent conversations, but they said simply that they were doing the work to design specifications and that the ceiling would hold.

Andrew Paven, a spokesman for Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, declined to comment last night.

Efforts to reach representatives of Modern Continental last night were unsuccessful. Coutts was on vacation and unavailable, a family member said last night.

Keaveney's memo, written May 17, 1999, while the ceiling was being installed, almost eerily foretells the collapse that crushed Milena Del Valle to death two weeks ago.

Investigations launched after Del Valle's death are increasingly focused on the bolt-and-epoxy system and why concrete panels weighing as much as 2,800 pounds were hung from the ceiling bolts without reinforcement. Keaveney's memo is the strongest evidence that the contractor on the I-90 project was given specific warning of the risks of the ceiling system.

Keaveney told the Globe that he was not alone in his worries and that he decided to write the memo to reflect what he called the collective concerns being voiced among ironworkers installing the ceiling and other Modern Continental employees on the scene that the ceiling wouldn't hold.

Keaveney wrote in the memo that the amount of weight being suspended from the ceiling appeared to be "excessive," given that the bolts were "only inserted into concrete with epoxy."

He also said that he observed water dripping down out of the holes that construction workers drilled before the epoxy and bolts were inserted. Given the water pressure on the tunnel ceiling, he asked whether the epoxy would hold. "I question whether the epoxy is suitable for a wet environment and how long can it withstand that force?" he wrote.

In the memo, he outlined other major concerns about the soundness of the ceiling system, including that the bolts and tiebacks were ``exposed to the elements" prior to their installation, sitting on pallets, and appeared to have signs of rust.

He also wrote that the bolts "will be subject to horizontal and lateral movement . . . every time the Vent Building utilizes the Ventilation fans."

Keaveney wrote in his memo that while workers were doing the project according to specifications, he worried that when the state took control of the tunnel, maintenance and vigilance would be neglected.

"My concerns are for that of the State when they assume control. They have a record of poor maintenance, and I just can envision that these sections will not receive the constant vigilance it would require," he wrote.

Keaveney was so worried about the ceiling weight that he urged that all workers be prohibited from working underneath the ceiling until he could "receive assurances from Independent Engineers that the fastening method is sound immediately after installation." He also urged that workers working above the ceiling be harnessed in case the ceiling gave way.

Keaveney, who was paid a salary of approximately $70,000 on the I-90 project, was responsible for on-site safety in the I-90 connector.

Keaveney, 43, who received his engineering degree from the University College Galway in Ireland, has had a long career in construction and is now safety officer for Shawmut Design and Construction, based in Boston.

Keaveney's letter was mailed to a Globe reporter without Keaveney's knowledge. He was contacted and verified it was his letter.

He said he really began to worry about the ceiling after a third-grade class from his hometown of Norwell came to visit the Big Dig for a tour in spring 1999. He showed the class some concrete ceiling panels and pointed to the bolts protruding from the ceiling, explaining that the panels would one day hang from those bolts.

A third-grade girl raised her hand and asked him, "Will those things hold up the concrete?"

He started voicing concerns among his colleagues and then to managers after that. "It was like the [third-graders] had pointed out the emperor has no clothes," he said. "I said, `Yes, it would hold,' but then I thought about it."

He travels frequently and was in New York City on a job when Del Valle was killed. He returned to Boston July 12 and was watching the television news with this wife when the story came on.

"I said, `Oh, my God,' that's my job," he said.

Keaveney said he blames himself. "I am part of the problem," he said. "I failed to open my mouth. I failed to push the letter I wrote for results. I am partially responsible for the death of this mother."

"Oh, yeah, it has been very difficult," he said, his eyes welling up with tears.

He said he has not been able to sleep since it happened. "I failed there. There's nothing I can do about it now."

Sean P. Murphy can be reached at smurphy@globe.com.

© Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.

[Ninjahedge]

Keaveney, who was paid a salary of approximately $70,000 on the I-90 project, was responsible for on-site safety in the I-90 connector.

Keaveney, 43, who received his engineering degree from the University College Galway in Ireland, has had a long career in construction and is now safety officer for Shawmut Design and Construction, based in Boston

He should have been a heavy machine operator..... :(

[ablarc]

"I failed there. There's nothing I can do about it now."
You won't find the folks at Modern Continental saying that. They're on the horn to their lawyer.

[lofter1]

Those companies are in deep sheet now.

[stache]

As well they should be.

[Jasonik]

Safety margin for tunnel was smaller than most, US says
Preliminary report issued

By Sean P. Murphy and Scott Allen, Globe Staff | November 1, 2006

The Big Dig tunnel ceiling that collapsed in July was designed with a smaller margin of safety than other tunnel ceilings around the country, leaving nothing to prevent heavy concrete slabs from falling on a passing car when ceiling bolts fell out, according to a preliminary report by federal investigators obtained by the Globe.

The Interstate 90 connector’s drop ceiling was held up by steel hangers, which were suspended from bolts that had been glued into the tunnel roof. But there were no beams attaching the ceiling to the walls, and the ceiling was constructed with half as many ceiling bolts as in the original design.

‘‘No redundancy was built into the ceiling in the event the hangers failed,’’ the National Transportation Safety Board states in its report. ‘‘The NTSB has researched other tunnels throughout the country and has found that significant redundancy is built into the ceiling design’’ so that the ceilings would not collapse when bolts fall out.

The report does not reach conclusions about the cause of the ceiling collapse, because the investigation is not finished. But it shows that the federal agency is looking into the adequacy of tests done to ensure the strength of the ceiling bolts and says that an employee of the testing contractor told investigators that testing differed from what was required by the construction contract.

The accident, which killed Milena Del Valle as she rode in a car to Logan International Airport with her husband late on July 10, already has triggered federal and state criminal investigations, a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Del Valle’s family, and the resignation of the chief of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority. But the investigation by the NTSB will carry enormous weight in assessing what went wrong and who should be punished, because of the agency’s expertise in reconstructing disasters.

The preliminary report, sent to key federal officials yesterday, describes significant lapses by both the state government and private companies involved in the $14.6 billion Big Dig project. From the tunnel’s original design in the mid-1990s to the moment of the accident, people involved in the project made decisions or mistakes that increased the risk of disaster, the report suggests.

For instance, the report said, officials from Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, the joint venture overseeing the Big Dig, decided to use epoxy bolts to suspend the ceiling from the tunnel’s roof, even after they switched from a lightweight material used for the ceiling in the adjacent Ted 8Williams Tunnel to much heavier concrete ceiling panels to save money. 8Epoxy bolts, which are held in place by a kind of super glue, are rarely used to suspend such heavy 8objects over people’s heads, 8according to interviews with engineers who specialize in the low-cost, but somewhat delicate bolts.

Then in 1997, the NTSB found, Bechtel/9Parsons Brinckerhoff managers directed the company designing the ceiling to follow a design that ‘‘provides little or no redundancy’’ if more than one hanger, each held up by two bolts, comes loose. NTSB researchers found that other US tunnels commonly feature side supports or other methods that back up the primary suspension system.

By contrast, the connector tunnel had no side supports, and Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff persuaded the designers at Gannett Fleming to cut in half the overall number of ceiling bolts holding up the connector ceiling, according to a 1998 memo previously reported by the Globe. After the accident, state investigators found that ceiling panels in the connector tunnel could collapse if as few as four ceiling bolts fail.

The NTSB report also suggests that flaws in construction of the ceiling, carried out by Modern Continental Construction Co., may have made the design more hazardous. While offering few details, the report said FBI and State 8Police interviews with Modern Continental workers point to 8‘‘potential problems in the procedures used during installation.’’ In addition, epoxy samples taken from parts of the tunnel away from the accident site showed ‘‘dark brown discoloration,’’ a sign that the epoxy was mixed improperly, diminishing its strength.

The NTSB also said safety tests carried out to prove the ceiling bolts were securely in place may have damaged some bolts. An 8inspector from the bolt-testing company, ConAm Testing, told NTSB investigators that some bolts were tested while the concrete ceiling panels hung from them, which required workers to lift the weight off the bolt being tested and shift it onto nearby bolts. That extra weight could have weakened the bolts not under8going the test, say engineers not connected to the Big Dig or the investigation.

The NTSB investigators also are looking at whether the bolt safety tests were rigorous enough. The Globe has reported that during construction in 1999, at least five bolts came loose soon after the connector ceiling was suspended from them, even though they had passed earlier safety tests. At the time, Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff officials required Modern Continental to retest bolts in parts of the connector using stricter safety standards, but bolts in the eastbound lane, where the ceiling caved in, were not retested.

Federal investigators have found no evidence that the Turnpike Authority rechecked the ceiling bolts after the connector opened in 2003, the report said. If they had, the report finds, they would have seen some bolts showing ‘‘extreme displacement.’’ Some of the 5Æ-inch-long bolts had come more than an inch out of their holes, the report said.

[TREPYE]

Safety margin for tunnel was smaller than most, US says
Preliminary report issued

Federal investigators have found no evidence that the Turnpike Authority rechecked the ceiling bolts after the connector opened in 2003, the report said. If they had, the report finds, they would have seen some bolts showing ‘‘extreme displacement.’’ Some of the 5Æ-inch-long bolts had come more than an inch out of their holes, the report said.

YIKES!!:eek:

[Jasonik]

The Big Tangle (http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/04/08/the_big_tangle?mode=PF)
In the aftermath of the fatal I-90 ceiling collapse, a complicated legal fight
has drawn in a phalanx of attorneys to defend pocketbooks and reputations.
Such maneuvering has drawn comparisons to famed disputes in Boston history.

Complicated Legal Maneuvering
http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/Globe_Graphic/2007/04/08/1176022368_7293.gif

[Jasonik]

Big Dig job may have used wrong epoxy
Total of bolts affected not clear; probers ask who knew

http://cache.boston.com/resize/bonzai-fba/Globe_Photo/2007/05/02/1178161183_6684/300h.jpg
Ceiling bolts recovered from debris following a Big Dig
ceiling collapse that killed a Jamaica Plain woman.
(ESSDRAS M SUAREZ/GLOBE STAFF)

By Scott Allen and Sean P. Murphy, Globe Staff | May 3, 2007

Contractors apparently used the wrong adhesive to install at least some of the bolts in a Big Dig tunnel ceiling that partially collapsed last summer, project records show, prompting criminal investigators to focus on whether the mix-up was a significant factor in the accident that killed a Jamaica Plain woman.

Invoices from the 1999 ceiling construction job show that Modern Continental Construction Co. received and apparently used at least one case of a quick-drying epoxy to secure ceiling bolts to the tunnel roof rather than standard epoxy, which the ceiling designers had specified.

The distinction was crucial to the safety of the ceiling: The "fast-set" epoxy holds 25 percent less weight than standard epoxy and is not recommended for suspending heavy objects overhead.

It is unclear how widespread the use of fast-set epoxy was, since most sales records don't list the epoxy type, but state criminal investigators are looking seriously at the possibility that the weaker epoxy was used in the ceiling section that collapsed when 20 bolts popped out on the night of July 10, 2006, according to representatives of several firms under investigation.

The investigators also want to know why no one raised the possibility that the wrong epoxy had been used when ceiling bolts started coming loose during construction of the Interstate 90 connector tunnel.

"If [workers] used the wrong stuff, which appears to be the case, the issue is who knew about this or were they reckless about letting the project go forward with the wrong stuff?" said a consultant to one of the firms involved in the ceiling project, who asked not to be named so as not to anger prosecutors who are presenting their evidence in secret to a Suffolk County grand jury.

Paul F. Ware, the special prosecutor leading the state's criminal investigation, has sent investigators back into the tunnel over the last few days to collect more ceiling bolts for lab analysis, according to a letter from the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, which manages the Big Dig tunnel system, to the companies involved in the ceiling project. The tests could help investigators determine the strength and type of epoxy that was used.

Use of fast-set epoxy in the ceiling is one in a series of missteps that may have contributed to the accident and, at the least, point out oversight lapses in the $14.6 billion Big Dig project.

The Globe has previously reported that, to save time, Big Dig managers and designers eliminated half the ceiling bolts called for in the original ceiling design and that construction workers made numerous mistakes during installation of the bolts that could have weakened them. The newspaper has also reported that ceiling bolts in the area of the collapse were safety-tested with a weight now regarded as too low, potentially allowing defective bolts to pass.

If the bolts were held in place by fast-set epoxy, the ceiling would have had little, if any, margin of safety left. Bolts secured with fast-set epoxy could safely carry 4,285 pounds each, rather than the 6,350 pounds the designers had planned on, based on their final report to Big Dig managers on the ceiling. Two independent engineers who have reviewed the ceiling's specifications for the Globe estimated that the ceiling's weight was close to 5,000 pounds per bolt, which is more than bolts secured with fast-set epoxy were designed to bear over the long term.

After the accident, the tunnel ceiling was permanently removed in the area of the accident, and elsewhere in the connector the ceiling was reinforced with additional bolts and brackets.

Construction of the ceiling was supervised by engineers at the joint venture of Bechtel and Parsons Brinckerhoff, but responsibility for using the right epoxy is difficult to pin down. The Braintree office of Gannett Fleming designed the ceiling to be secured with standard epoxy, but that require ment is not highlighted in project documents. Modern Continental built the ceiling, but workers have said they weren't told there was an important difference between the epoxies. Powers Fasteners of New York had a contract to supply the epoxy and bolts, but only through a small distribution company that bought the products wholesale and then delivered them to the job.

As a result, each company has said it bears no responsibility for use of the wrong epoxy. In fact, Powers Fasteners officials have told investigators that they aren't even certain that the epoxy in the accident area was their product, even though, during construction, company officials visited the tunnel and provided technical advice to workers on how to install the ceiling bolts properly. Powers' distributor, Newman, Renner, Colony of Plymouth, declined to comment.

The investigation into what epoxy was used has been hampered by both the imprecise sales records and the difficulty of chemically identifying the epoxy used in the area of the accident. The National Transportation Safety Board reported four months after the crash that it could not identify the epoxy taken from the failed bolts even after comparing it with samples of standard and fast-set epoxy. And the sales records that show what Newman, Renner, Colony delivered to Modern Continental distinguish between standard and fast-set epoxy in only one invoice.

State investigators in recent months have intensified their interest in Powers, sending company officials a fresh subpoena in March asking for documents concerning its role in the ceiling project. In addition, witnesses from other companies called before the grand jury hearing evidence in the case say they are being questioned closely about the type of epoxy used to hold up the ceiling.

"All the discussion outside the jury room is about the question of which epoxy was used and was it fast-set epoxy?" said an official for one of the companies under investigation who asked not to be named.

The focus on epoxy comes as Ware and his boss, Attorney General Martha Coakley, strive to meet a self-imposed deadline of June to decide whether to ask the grand jury to return indictments against anyone for criminal negligence in the accident. Legal analysts say that winning a conviction would require Coakley to prove that people or companies knew they were building a dangerous ceiling or they were so reckless that they missed obvious warning signs.

Before taking office in January, Coakley had raised doubts that the evidence was strong enough to prove criminal negligence, but, since Ware's arrival on March 1, some in her office say they have become more optimistic that there could be enough evidence for criminal indictments.

But fixing responsibility for the epoxy remains challenging, in part because the design documents produced by Gannett Fleming and Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff say only in passing that contractors should use standard epoxy rather than fast-set for ceiling bolts. All of the safety calculations are based on bolts secured by standard epoxy, but the design specifications don't explicitly forbid fast-set, and the fact that fast-set can support less weight than standard epoxy is contained only in a footnote.

Adding to the confusion, although fast-set epoxy cartridges were clearly marked, the workers installing the ceiling may not have known there was a difference between fast-set and standard aside from drying time. Construction workers on the ceiling project have said they used Powers Fasteners epoxy and bolts, but they don't recall whether the label said fast-set.

Finally, the epoxy passed through many hands on its way to the tunnel. Sika Corp. manufactured the epoxy at a plant in Ohio, then shipped it to a warehouse in New Jersey in barrels marked with a prominent "FS" to denote fast-set epoxy, according to Sika officials. Powers then transported Sika's epoxy to its plant in New York where workers repackaged it into small cartridges, placing Powers's label on it. Then, Newman, Renner, Colony brought the cartridges and bolts to Modern Continental at the tunnel site.

Criminal investigators are focusing on a period in October 1999 when five ceiling bolts came loose shortly after the ceiling was hung from them, prompting Modern Continental officials to call in Powers Fasteners officials for advice. Over the next three months, officials from Powers, Modern and Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff discussed ways to install bolts more securely, but there is no evidence anyone asked: Did workers use the right epoxy?

As one lawyer with direct knowledge of the investigation put it, "Was the right advice given by the experts?"

Allen can be reached at allen@globe.com; Murphy at smurphy@globe.com.

*****
Past GLOBE coverage of the collapse (http://www.boston.com/news/specials/big_dig_ceiling_collapse)

*****

[Ninjahedge]

Cheap ass bastiches!

They have done thnigs liek this in the past, tried to use cheaper, faster or easier materials (all ammounting to cheaper overall construction) without the Engineers KNOWING concent.

They have stacked different material reports for approval with a bunch of other things to make it more difficult to catch things being slipped in, or they just never actively mention it (or the change).

It turns into a paper chase where the only one that ever benefits are the lawyers, if it ever reaches the courts.


Now I am not saying that Engineers are perfect. By no means is THAT true either. But out of all parties involved, the ones that are usually blamed first (Designers) are the least often directly responsible for the "oversight".



The biggest problem with epoxy bolt holes (Post-pour anchors) is that the manual DISTINCLTY calls for cleaning of the drill hole with compressed air, but sometimes that is just not done, leaving lots of debris and particulate matter lining the hole.

You epoxy it, the epoxy binds to the grit, and later when it dries you can pull it out by hand with a wrench.

If this was done with the wrong epoxy, it is going to cost a LOT of money to check all the bolts (or each batch of bolts to confirm materials).

[Jasonik]

GLOBE EDITORIAL
Responsibility all around
July 11, 2007

THE CASCADE of failures that led to the fatal ceiling collapse in the Big Dig connector tunnel one year ago was on stark display yesterday in Washington, where the National Transportation Safety Board issued its final report (http://www.ntsb.gov/Publictn/2007/HAR-07-02.htm) on the incident that killed 38-year old Milena Del Valle.

In a recitation of mismanagement that one panel member said "would make your hair stand on end," the NTSB staff described the numerous ways in which Big Dig designers and contractors didn't understand, and state authorities didn't investigate, why the anchors used to fasten the ceiling panels in the Interstate 90 connector tunnel were vulnerable to "epoxy creep." In reading the panel's findings, board chairman Mark Rosenker said repeatedly that, had the responsible parties done a better job of testing, monitoring, and inspecting the ceiling construction, the accident could have been prevented.

And who are the responsible parties? Dashing hopes for a quick resolution of the long-playing drama, the board's report revealed no single villain. Instead, the board flagged failures all along the way. There was the failure of contractors Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, design managers Gannett Fleming, and builders Modern Continental to thoroughly test and monitor the ceiling construction after they learned that some of the anchors were coming loose in 1999. The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority failed to do a single inspection of the tunnel from the day it opened to traffic in November 2003 to the day of the fatal incident more than 30 months later. And almost everyone failed to realize that the "fast set" epoxy used to anchor the bolts in the ceiling panels, made by the firm Powers Fasteners, was insufficient to bear long-term loads and wasn't holding.

Hanging over the findings was a pervasive sense of neglect and inaction from leaders on Beacon Hill -- until tragedy struck.

"I find it incredible," said panel member Kitty Higgins, "that the state played such a passive role."

The report won't draw a bright line for officials still picking their way through the thicket of pending lawsuits and financial claims. Attorney General Martha Coakley must still decide whether to pursue criminal charges in the death -- weighing the likelihood of a conviction against the need to maximize cost recovery for repairs and ongoing maintenance of the project. Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen must still complete his promised "stem-to-stern" review of the project, necessary to restore the public confidence that surely took another hit yesterday.

Everyone knows that there are risks associated with driving in tunnels. But citizens have a right to believe that those risks are minimized by professionals doing their jobs and caring about them. And, that nearly $15 billion in taxpayers' money would have bought a decent measure of oversight.

http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/AP_Photo/2007/07/10/1184092936_3305.jpg (http://www.boston.com/news/traffic/bigdig/articles/2007/07/11/The_NTSB_conclusions)
INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC

[Ninjahedge]

And, that nearly $15 billion in taxpayers' money would have bought a decent measure of oversight.


I think it bought a whole LOT of oversight. And overlooking. And overcharging.

[ZippyTheChimp]

Everyone knows that there are risks associated with driving in tunnelsWhatatheymean?

Risks like rock climbing, or crossing the street?

[pianoman11686]

Boston Has High Hopes Now That the Dig Is Done

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/02/24/us/24dig-600.jpg
A land bridge linking the North End of Boston with downtown. More Photos > (http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/02/14/us/0217-DIG_index.html)

By ABBY GOODNOUGH
Published: February 24, 2008

BOSTON — In the gloom of winter, it is hard to see potential amid the strips of brown grass and pavement that lie where this city’s hulking elevated highway used to be.

But with the $15 billion construction project known as the Big Dig officially over as of last month, the promised transformation of downtown Boston — not just its traffic patterns but also its look, its feel, its very essence — finally seems within reach.

Expectations are high, and for good reason. The Big Dig drained not only public coffers but also the psyche of Boston as it replaced the traffic-choked highway with sleek tunnels over nearly two decades. The construction forced hellish traffic jams and proved faulty, with the new tunnels springing hundreds of leaks and worse. Four workers died during the construction, and in 2006, concrete ceiling panels in one tunnel collapsed and killed a woman in a car.

Where the highway used to be is now a milelong green space with benches, fountains and fledgling trees ready to welcome pedestrians come spring. Where the highway cut off waterfront neighborhoods from the rest of the city, there is now a clear view to Boston Harbor, the Italian North End, the New England Aquarium and the wharfs that surround it.

Yet problems persist. The Big Dig was one of the most expensive public works projects in the nation’s history, and money for finishing touches is scarce. The real estate downturn has threatened development along the corridor, and the new parks, skinny and hemmed in by busy three-lane surface roads, present their own hurdles.

Lackluster fund-raising and other obstacles have stalled plans for four new buildings along the greenway — a museum, a cultural center, a visitors center and a Y.M.C.A. — and a glassed-in garden planned for its southern tip has been scrapped.

While the project was a godsend for drivers — a study by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority found it cut the average trip through Boston to 2.8 minutes from 19.5 — residents are looking to the $100 million worth of aesthetic changes for more proof the agony was worth it. Advocates of the project, meanwhile, are pleading for more patience.

“Everything is so supercharged around this project,” said Anthony Flint, director of public affairs for the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, a research group in Cambridge. “But it’s a delicate balance. You want to think of this as the signature space of Boston, but at the same time you have to allow it to evolve.”

That evolution has definitely begun.

Along the new park space, called the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, buildings that long ago sealed off windows overlooking the highway are reopening them. New housing, shops and offices are in the works. One former warehouse has been renamed Greenway Place Condominiums, with luxury lofts that start around $800,000.

“It’s going to be way better, I think, than anything I dreamed of,” said Frederick Salvucci, a former Massachusetts transportation secretary who helped conceive of the Big Dig in the 1970s and championed it through multiple delays and cost overruns.

Mr. Salvucci and others hope the new corridor, replacing what he called “a big ugly slash in the city,” will eventually rival cherished public spaces like Las Ramblas in Barcelona and the Embarcadero in San Francisco.

The city considered it a major victory when, in 1991, the state decided that 75 percent of the land created as a result of the Big Dig must be left as open space. But while the greenway is divided into four parks totaling 10.5 acres, all are limited in design and function because they are built over tunnels and surrounded by traffic.

The southernmost park, bordering Chinatown, has a red gateway at its entrance, fan-shaped paving stones and bamboo plantings. The next, which greets commuters arriving at South Station, was supposed to have the glassed-in garden but now will be regular garden space with little pavement.

The next parcel, facing the aquarium, has a circular plaza, a large fountain and tall glass lights that glow purple at night. And the northernmost park, connecting downtown with the North End’s famous restaurants, has tables, chairs and a long, bench-lined pergola that will be covered with vines. More than 1,300 trees have been planted along the greenway.

The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, a nonprofit group created to oversee the greenway, is raising money for its upkeep and considering what kind of activities would best suit the space. Summertime festivals for children, morning yoga classes and organized walks through the parks are likely.

Jerold Kayden, a professor of urban planning and design at Harvard, said that the parks lacked boldness and creativity and that the corridor remained “an urban void.” It might have been more interesting, Professor Kayden said, to leave the highway intact as an elevated park like the planned High Line, formerly a railway, on the West Side of Manhattan.

“One would be hard-pressed to say this is a creative, cohesive, singular public space that will redefine the city of Boston,” he said. “And that is too bad, when you have that much space.”

Others say the space merely needs to evolve, and that in time, the greenway and the development that rises alongside it will have the same impact that filling in the Back Bay — formerly tidewater flats along the Charles River, now one of Boston’s most upscale neighborhoods — did more than a century ago.

“I think you’ll see these spaces realizing the same kind of historic contribution that the Boston Common and the Public Garden have made,” said Richard Dimino, president of A Better City, a business group that has closely monitored the Big Dig. “But I don’t think we’re there yet.”

Some who live and work along the greenway are worried they will be priced out by the upscale development. In Chinatown, others say that a planned 27-story residential tower will threaten their neighborhood’s character. And some vendors at the Haymarket, a hectic, scruffy produce market, are worried they will no longer be welcome.

But Alan Caparella, whose family has owned Mother Anna’s in the North End for 70 years, said the greenway was a boon for the restaurant, which borders it.

“People are finally starting to come back into the city that wouldn’t come in here five, six, eight years ago because of the Big Dig,” Mr. Caparella said. “Now, if you go out on the patio on a nice summer day, you’re looking at a beautiful skyline. Before, we were looking at construction. You couldn’t open the doors. We’d open the door for half an hour and see dust settle on the bar and the glasses and the white tablecloths.”

He added: “Now I’m looking at park. I’m looking out the window right now at people walking back and forth to City Hall and Faneuil Hall, and we’re right in the middle of it.”

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/02/23/us/0224-web-DIGmap.jpg

Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/24/us/24dig.html?pagewanted=all)

[GVNY]

I may be in the minority (and admittedly I do not travel to Boston often), but I think infill structures would have served the city better than the greenway, no?

[alonzo-ny]

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/02/23/us/0224-web-DIGmap.jpg


Reminds me of Cracow's 'Planty'


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2066/2292099766_dfecbf90e6.jpg