BIG DIG.Indd

BY DAN MCNICHOL CORRESPONDENT NTSB report on ceiling collapse spreads the blame 22 • FEBRUARY 2008 • ROADS & BRIDGES WWW.ROADSBRIDGES.COM t 11:01 p.m. on July 10, 2006, a 38-year-old mother of three trav- eled to Logan International Airport in Boston with her husband behind the wheel of a 1991 Buick. The couple was approximately one second from exiting a new “Big Dig” tunnel when 20 anchor Abolts and 10 massive concrete panels used for ventilating the tunnel pulled free from the highway’s ceiling. Looking out through the windshield, they could safety. Each update from the media instilled see the huge panels of concrete, each weighing citizens with more trepidation. Were the Big about as much as their own car, fall in a sweep- Dig’s roads, bridges and tunnels safe for com- ing motion from right to left, simultaneously muters? Public offi cials debated the issue over quashing their vehicle and forcing it against the the airwaves and in the papers, making it un- north side of the I-90 tunnel wall. clear whom to trust. The chairman of the Mas- The falling infrastructure, striking the passen- sachusetts Turnpike Authority and head of the ger side of the car fi rst, killed Milena Del Valle Big Dig, Matt Amorello, said the tunnels were instantly. Her husband was saved in part by a safe. Gov. Mitt Romney argued the Big Dig was 1 roughly 2/2-ft-high walkway outfi tted with a 3 a disaster. Because the Turnpike Authority man- 1 /2-ft-high stainless steel railing running along aged the Big Dig, the governor was unable to the northern side of the tunnel wall. The 6-ft- control the quasi-private-public bureaucracy. high emergency walkway prevented the cascad- The Washington Post reported the governor’s ing ceiling panels from completely crushing the lament, saying, “That the largest public works driver’s side of the car. Somehow Milena’s hus- project in the country would have no account- band survived with only minor injuries. ability to any public offi cial is nuts.” In the morning the news was local. By mid- Taping off the tunnel day, the Big Dig ceiling collapse was prime-time Initially, fi rst responders thought no one was national news. Despite the political battle, cer- hurt in the collapse. Boston Fire Department tain realities were indisputable. A woman was crews, arriving within minutes of the failure, dead. were stunned to fi nd a fl attened 1991 Buick be- Citing alleged negligence and faulty work- neath the pile of concrete ceiling panels. Mo- manship, the Massachusetts attorney general torists who had stopped to help were told to declared the I-90 tunnel a crime scene. One evacuate the tunnel for fear of further collapse. section after another of the region’s primary The Big Dig’s reputation as an engineering mar- transportation system was being shut down as vel had come unglued overnight. inspections revealed unsafe conditions through- Early-morning news broadcasts awoke Bosto- out the Big Dig tunnel system. Ceiling supports nians to more disbelief and outrage surround- were being tagged, removed and hauled off ing the Big Dig. However, this time it was not in Massachusetts State Police vehicles. Logan over escalating costs or disconcerting leaks. International Airport was the scene of missed The sobering reality was a matter of public fl ights as a result of traffi c jams as well as de- ROADS & BRIDGES • FEBRUARY 2008 • 23 a Due to the Big Dig’s scope, its cost to the federal government and the criminal allegations surrounding the ceiling collapse, the Massachusetts Congressional delegation asked the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to conduct a thorough investigation. lays in service to the Silver Line, a Simple inspections revealed slippage Rosenker made the board’s fi ndings transit line partially built by the Big of other epoxy bolts holding up other public to all those present and watch- Dig whose buses ran through the ceiling panels. Massive ventilation ing a simulcast online. Reading from now-closed I-90 tunnel. jet fans in both the tunnels also were the report, he stated, “The National Over a year later, Brad Puffer, a suspended from epoxy bolt systems. Transportation Safety Board deter- TV reporter for New England Cable Inspections revealed they needed to mines that the probable cause of the News, explained, “As far as a news be shored up with additional emer- July 10, 2006, ceiling collapse in the event, I’ve never seen anything like gency retrofi ts. No one knew at the D Street portal of the Interstate I-90 it. The entire city was shutting down. time, but in order to complete up- connector tunnel in Boston, Massa- The story was huge. It affected ev- grading the tunnels’ safety features, chusetts, was the use of an epoxy eryone.” parts of the Big Dig would remain anchor adhesive with the poor creep In a rare public, inner-politi- closed for a year. resistance, that is, an epoxy formu- cal party brawl, two of the state’s Due to the Big Dig’s scope, its lation that was not capable of sus- most infl uential offi ceholders were cost to the federal government and taining long-term loads. Over time, hosting separate press conferences. the criminal allegations surrounding the epoxy deformed and fractured Remarkably, they had confl icting the ceiling collapse, the Massachu- until several ceiling support anchors messages. The governor, Amorello’s setts Congressional delegation asked pulled free and allowed a portion of ultimate boss, wanted the chairman the National Transportation Safety the ceiling to collapse.” The report’s fi red. Laws governing the quasi-pub- Board (NTSB) to conduct a thorough fi ndings: Epoxy was the culprit; igno- lic turnpike authority made fi ring investigation. Eager to set the record rance and negligence, it would later Amorello, a political appointee, dif- straight and ease fears of the own- be explained, was the cause. fi cult. Within three days of the col- ers and users of other tunnel systems Reading on, Rosenker spread the lapse, the Massachusetts Legislature around the world, the NTSB made blame wide and far: Contractors, passed emergency legislation on July the Big Dig report one of the most subcontractors and even their sub- 13 stating, “It is hereby declared to technical and thorough investigative contractors were at fault. In addi- be an emergency law, necessary for works in its 40-year history. Dramati- tion, the Big Dig’s management con- the immediate preservation of the cally, on the one-year anniversary of sultant, federal agencies and state public’s safety.” The emergency law the collapse, the NTSB revealed its agencies were named as contributors cleared the way for Gov. Romney to fi ndings, which were as direct as to the tragic accident. Going beyond take control of the Turnpike Author- they were simple. those directly responsible for the col- ity and dismiss Amorello. lapse, every highway department As the political scene began to cor- Blame is broad in the U.S. and several associations rect itself, the physical realities in- Presiding over the members of the such as the American Association of side the tunnels were growing worse. board assembled under the massive State Highway & Transportation Of- Epoxy-dependent anchoring systems great seal of the U.S., with its spread fi cials (AASHTO) and the American in the other parts of the Big Dig I- eagle and banner reading, “E Pluri- Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), 90 tunnels were in danger of failure. bis Unum,” NTSB Chairman Mark who were not to blame for the acci- 24 • FEBRUARY 2008 • ROADS & BRIDGES WWW.ROADSBRIDGES.COM a dent, were called upon by the NTSB to create guidelines and material Look for the “CERTIFIED PRODUCT specifi cations in order to prevent fur- PERFORMANCE” ther tunnel failures. logo on Crafco products Simply, the NTSB explained, the wrong glue was used. And the ham- mer came down squarely on the company that supplied the epoxy to the Big Dig: Powers Fasteners. The NTSB stated, “The source of the anchor displacement that was found in the D Street portal tunnels and that precipitated the ceiling collapse was the poor creep resistance of the Pow- er-Fast Fast Set epoxy used to install TM the anchors.” More to their point, the board said, “The information that was provided by Powers Fasteners Inc. regarding its Power-Fast epoxy was inadequate and misleading.” The Boston Globe reported that the fi rst of 15 defendants to settle claims levied at them by Milena Del Valle’s family, Powers Fasteners, will pay $6 million in damages. “The tunnel ceiling collapse,” the Globe read, “has triggered one of the most complicat- ed legal fi ghts in Boston history . drawing more than 100 attorneys, 17 companies and dozens of engineers and workers into the burgeoning lawsuits and criminal investigations spawned by the tragedy.” Certified Products Next in line was the designer of the Big Dig’s ceiling in the I-90 tunnel. The NTSB report explained their or over thirty years Crafco products have been tested and evaluated in fi ndings, stating, “Had Gannett Flem- Flaboratories, field projects and research studies. ing, Inc., in the construction contract for the D Street portal fi nishes, speci- Crafco’s Certified Product Performance verification begins with the raw fi ed the use of adhesive anchors with material and ends with finished product. Verification begins at the adequate creep resistance a different Refinery where a Statistical Process Control system aids operators in meeting and sustaining the highest standards of product consistency, anchor adhesive could have been repeatability, quality, and stability.

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