Posted on 07/10/2007 5:49:08 PM PDT by Lonesome in Massachussets
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The fatal Big Dig tunnel collapse in Boston could have been avoided if authorities had considered that the epoxy securing tons of ceiling panels could slowly pull away, federal investigators concluded Tuesday.
The National Transportation Safety Board approved a report saying the likely cause of the accident that killed a woman was ''use of an epoxy anchor adhesive with poor creep resistance'' that could not sustain long-term loads.
-- SNIP --
''Although the epoxy used in the tunnel had acceptable short term strength, it was incapable of supporting much lower loads over an extended period of time,'' Magladry said. ''If any of the entities involved in the ceiling design and installation had considered creep as a possibility, a different epoxy or a different anchoring system would have been used.''
-- SNIP --
The companies have said they stand behind their work.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
The incompetence that this bespeaks is appalling. Who in their right mind would try a suspension system like this on a project of this magnitude without being thoroughly familar with the issues? Of course, the Big Pig was a make work project for the construction unions and politically connected contractors. Any public benefit was purely incidental.
What a disgrace.
But would they stand under it?
If they had used duct tape, this story wouldn’t exist.
So, does this mean they are going to close the tunnel for a year or six while repairs are done?
ML/NJ
...but not under it.
What? Are you serious?
Who in their right mind would eternally re elect drunken trash like Kennedy and an unpatriotic fool like Kerry for life? - and be proud of it?
Right mind? This is Massachusetts!
They already did. They closed it for about six weeks while very bolt was removed, the entire ceiling was rehung and tested using a machine that subjected every one of twenty or so bolts holding up the ceiling to as much force as the entire panel assembly weighed. In addition, they instituted a regular inspection regime for the entire ceiling.
Still...I avoid that tunnel.
Billons of $ and years of work and the thing is held up with glue? I seriously wonder about folks there. (FReepers excluded, of course!)
Man, that was a close call for the taxpayers.
I was worried that it was going to cost some REAL money to fix it...
LOL! Good point!
These companies should have been required to install identically constructed ceilings in their executive offices immediately after the structural failure of the tunnel ceiling (which I will NOT refer to as an “accident”), and keep them there for the same length of time it took for the tunnel ceiling to “creep” down onto some poor unsuspecting motorists’ car.
Politicians, Unions, and other scumbags made a fortune on this boondoggle, with promises of much more to come because of their very own incompetence.
Unbelievable!
The whole idea of constructing the ceiling of a tunnel with suspended multi-ton slabs of concrete is idiotic, regardless of what’s used to hold them up.
anyone that would suspend slabs of concrete from a ceiling for cosmetic purposes should be squashed under a falling one!
Put ‘em in touch with the Red Green Show dude. Heck.. he put a small truck together with duct tape! LOL
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And it’s not as if the Big Dig was intended to accomplish very much, either. For the most part, they tore up an old elevated highway and built a new one underground to serve the same purpose. In addition to that, they built an airport access road and provided some aesthetic pleasure to vain urban NIMBYs...
Are we talking about Bill Clinton voters here, I'm confused...
The ceiling was not at all cosmetic. The suspended ceiling was a airway to carry fan forced air in the event of a fire. The slabs had to be that heavy not lift under the tremendous air flow.
BTW, fans just like these saved possibly hundreds of lives during a tunnel fire in the Holland Tunnel in the 1950’s, iirc.
They are going after the contractor. I don’t know if they can recover the costs of loss of a major artery, making access to Logan Airport even worse than normal.
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