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.
Didn't Chappaquiddick Kennedy marry a woman from Louisiana? Maybe LA and MA should merge and form a new country, the Peoples Republic of Criminal Politicians (PRCP). The rest of US would save $ Billions.
$15 billion in federal taxpayers' money down the hole. It's hard to waste that much money, but Massachusetts has a "can do" attitude.
It sounds like they have compromised the concrete and steel in the roof itself. The fix will be to tear it out.
There is nothing unique or "cutting edge" about suspending concrete panels or other heavy materials with anchor bolts and epoxy into concrete. It's a relatively common design. It is also the same freak'n issue...over and over...when the sub goes to core drill...where's the rebar? Every contractor worth a shit knows that xrays are undependible and expensive. There are, however, two relatively inexpensive ways to obviate the problem: paint the formwork where rebar is located (when the forms are stripped there are nice pretty lines on the concrete that yell. "Don't drill here!") or use embeds.
Regardless, everyone should read the report. It is a case study in the way big time projects are built these days: Contractors load a project management team with new college grads whom are simply ignorant to means and methods...and designers who fail to understand their job and expertise.
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