Posted on 07/12/2006 11:26:51 AM PDT by Aquinasfan
Howie Carr reports that an "unnamed source" has revealed that the 3-ton ceiling panels in the Ted Williams Tunnel, several of which collapsed killing a driver Monday, serve no structural purpose. Their purpose is strictly aesthetic.
At a news conference yesterday, spokesmen for the turnpike authority intimated that the panels help to remove exhaust from the tunnel. The unnamed source claims that the panels only serve to hide the ceiling fans.
And the feds didn't have a cow about this, why?! I mean US taxpayers are only picking up 60% of the tab for this charlie foxtrot.
No takers.
The panels will all come out.
The big question is, what's next?
Bush.
Yes. And even if you're going to go with a ceiling like this, the slabs should have been resting on an I-beam frame with I-beams on the sides to transfer the load to the ground.
Someone on the other thread said that the airspace above the ceiling was supposed to be used to vent fumes in case of a tunnel fire. But I can think of many other safer and less expensive ways to do that.
This is GROSS negligence. Heads have to roll for this.
Precast ceiling panels can be hung without any problem whatsoever.
I still think the design is horrible. I've never seen concrete air ducts used anywhere. Why not steel ducts, or lots of steel ducts? They could have used much smaller fasteners.
Even if they were using concrete ceiling panels, why didn't they build a grid out of I-beams? They could have rested the slabs on I-beams and then transferred the load to the ground with vertical I-beams on the sides.
I'm sure there are some decent folks in Mass, but somehow looking from here in flyover country, it just seems like a total sinkhole.
Prayers for the family of the woman who was killed.
That slab could have just as easily wound up on a whole bus load of kids.
Yeeeeaaah... I sure as hell wouldn't walk through there.
No, it can't.
I guess you're right. It's very strong though, and I have to assume that it's got better shear strength than concrete.
If they served a structural purpose they wouldn't be Hanging from the ceiling and up by ties.. while you can bolt segments into rock to form walls and ceilings of tunnels... this is clearly not what these were.... A failure of a single bolt in that sort of situation would not cause an entire segment to fall, let alone a cascade effect that would bring down other segments as well.
I can tell you this, the damned thing needs filled in with grout and written off.... It was clearly built substandard with graft being its top priority.
Its time Blue Staters started to wake up to the government they have, because its the government they deserve... You keep voting the way you do, and enjoy the communist world you are creating.... Where your life is worthless, and inept running the show do so with impunity. As someone who grew up in the south it always amazed me how they portray the south as a good ole boy network.... when I've never saw the complete corruption and control I have seen since moving up north.
Today in Pittsburgh an overheight truck entered the ft pitt tunnels and knocked a few tile loose... but no one died, the tunnel didn't fail or collapse.. and that tunnel is old, though recently refurbished... Now I'm not defending PA as a state with its head completely screwed on right.. but this incident resulted in a half hour closure to make sure no other problems and traffic resumed... no injuries or deaths.. WHICH IS WHAT YOU WOULD EXPECT.... I guarantee this had happened in part of the big dig, the outcome would not be the same.
This is the central point as far as the design goes. Have you worked on anything like this?
bttt
You have an interesting sense of humor.
Lets be clear, the report was from 1998, and was early on in the project. The area of tunnel that collapsed might have had none of the issues in the report.
Eye will leaf know pun un-dun.....
Now you're just trying to show off.
Concrete is excellent in compression but has zero strength in tension.
Epoxy anchors are fine if the hole has been properly cleaned out and you have a good bonding surface, and the anchor is allowed to properly dry.
"I don't know about this, even a potatoe dropped for an overpass onto a speeding car can kill. So lightweight items can kill just a well as cement... "
I understand lightweight items don't fall as fast, so based on my understanding of dynamics the damage will thus be less.
Right?
(note I argued with you on the issue rather than critizing you on bad spelling)
14 billion in American taxpayer money goes to Boston to
(1) bury an existing expressway, but not enlarge it
(2) buy a park straight through the middle of what's nearly yhe oldest city in the northeast.
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