BOSTON (AP) – Parts of the Sumner Tunnel’s concrete liner are cracked and will require “major repairs” that will cause significant inconvenience to commuters including at the very least lane closures, Gov. Mitt Romney said Tuesday.
Romney announced the finding during a report on his “stem to stern” review of the city’s transportation infrastructure, which he ordered after concrete ceiling panels in a Big Dig tunnel collapsed July 10, crushing and killing a motorist. One of the biggest problems outlined by Romney happens when, over time, metal rods imbedded in the tunnel’s concrete lining and portions of its original ceiling rust and expand, causing the concrete covering it to crack and loosen.
That poses a safety risk in portions of the tunnel where the concrete could fall on passing cars. During a news conference, Romney held up a chunk of concrete he said weighed about 5 or 6 pounds which he said had started to come loose and was removed from the ceiling by inspection crews.
In other portions of the tunnel, the loose concrete was located above a drop ceiling in the tunnel and would land on the ceiling – and not cars – if it fell.
“The Sumner’s condition is such that a long-term structural repair is going to have to be done,” he said. “This is not something which is going to be repaired in the evenings on occasion. This is a major project to reline and repair the inside of that tunnel system.”
Stephen Pritchard, heading up the stem to stern review, said repair crews will be spending the next few nights checking for any remaining loose concrete, and removing it.
The tunnel, opened in 1934, carries traffic under Boston Harbor in one direction, from Logan International Airport and Route 1A in East Boston to the North End. About 30 percent of the Sumner’s lining shows the problem concrete.
The tunnel had a major overhaul in the 1990s, during which much of the original drop ceiling directly over traffic was replaced. About 17 percent of the tunnel’s original ceiling remains with the potential of concrete falling on cars. The newer ceiling panels are not covered with concrete.
The tunnel does not need to be closed immediately, and Romney said work probably won’t begin until next summer at the earliest. In the meantime, he said there will be regular inspections and removal of loose concrete.
He said the length of the repairs would be determined in part by the extent of the damage to the concrete. He said he didn’t know whether the tunnel would have to be shut down during the repairs or whether one lane could be kept open.
Romney said there was no imminent danger, however if the tunnel is left unchecked: “There could have been a real safety failure.”
He also said he didn’t know how much it would cost to fix the tunnels, but said it was unlikely the state could recover money for the repairs from contractors given that the tunnels were built so long ago. “This is on our nickel,” he said.
Romney’s report also pointed to other problems in the Callahan tunnel, including gaps in the bolts holding up ceiling panels that had to be strengthened with hundreds of additional bolts, and the lack of diagonal “transverse” ceiling braces intended to stabilize the ceiling panels in the event of seismic activity.
Former Turnpike board member Jordan Levy said he found Romney’s report “troubling” and said there was never any indication brought to the board about potential problems in the Callahan and Sumner tunnels.
“There has never been ever a single solitary statement about the ongoing conditions in the Callahan or Sumner tunnels while I was on the board,” said Levy, who served from June 1999 until last June. “I don’t understand what these people were doing for their living if they weren’t doing these inspections.”
The Sumner Tunnel, named for William H. Sumner, the son of Gov. Increase Sumner, carried traffic in both directions until the opening of the parallel Callahan Tunnel in 1961.
Romney said the work on the Sumner won’t begin until after officials are able to re-open portions of the Big Dig which were closed after four three-ton concrete ceiling panels fell in the I-90 connector tunnel and crushed a car, killing 39-year-old Milena Del Valle.
Romney said repair work is progressing, despite the discovery of some additional damage to the ceiling struts. He said “Ramp D” – the ramp that allows cars coming through the Ted Williams Tunnel from Logan International Airport to link directly to Interstate 93 west and eastbound – could reopen by the end of October.
The initial report also found a series of smaller problems in the Big Dig that Romney said were easily fixable, including loose bolts in signs, light polls and in brackets supporting panels on the sides of ramps. A final version of the “stem to stern” report is due in mid-November.
Del Valle’s death prompted tunnel and road closures and sparked a public furor over the $14.6 billion Big Dig project, which has been plagued by cost overruns, leaks, falling debris, and other problems linked to faulty construction.
The Big Dig, the most expensive highway project in U.S. history, buried the old elevated Central Artery with a series of tunnels, ramps and bridges.
Del Valle’s husband and her elder daughter filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and nine companies associated with design and construction of the project.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
