Another key connector shut
Fixture trouble on west ramp to I-93; Romney sees months of Big Dig work
Yet another crucial link between Interstates 90 and 93 in the heart of Boston has been closed after inspectors found about 40 potentially dangerous bolt fixtures similar to the ones suspected in last week's fatal tunnel ceiling collapse, said state officials.
Needed repairs and safety checks to the entire Big Dig project could take two months or more, Governor Mitt Romney said, adding that the bolt-and-epoxy ceiling fasteners throughout the tunnel system represent a ``systemic failure, not an anomaly or a fluke."
``We're not worried about an imminent collapse in this system," he said. ``But instead we recognize there is a risk associated with it, and we are not willing to risk people's lives for convenience."
The latest closing, expected to last for at least two weeks, shuts down the westbound I-90/Ted Williams ramp to I-93 in South Boston at Exit 24 and will affect motorists headed westbound from Logan International Airport, East Boston, and Route 1A. The ramp was open until late Saturday, but was ordered closed yesterday after inspectors discovered the suspect bolts.
Motorists will be forced to take Exit 25 and use surface streets. While additional Boston and State Police officers will be directing the traffic detoured onto local roads -- an estimated 3,000 vehicles an hour during peak periods -- the congestion will spill over into many parts of Boston.
``This is going to have a huge impact," said Mariellen Burns, spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, which runs the Big Dig. ``We're asking for the motoring public's patience. Obviously, safety is the first priority here."
Officials are urging commuters to take public transportation, alternate routes, or seek staggered work hours.
Acting Boston Transportation Commissioner Thomas J. Tinlin said today's commute will be the worst since Milena Del Valle died a week ago today when concrete ceiling panels fell inside the I-90 connector tunnel and crushed the car that her husband was driving to Logan.
``Our message to the commuting public is that if you have to come into the city of Boston, do everything you can to leave your vehicle at home," he said. ``Allow yourself extra time. The best way to get into the city at this time is the MBTA."
Drivers can expect significant delays, he said, especially those headed to the South Boston waterfront near the Seaport area and World Trade Center. Tinlin also said that drivers throughout the city might notice that traffic signals on their usual route will take longer to change.
Jeff Larson -- general manager of Smart Routes Systems Inc., a Cambridge traffic monitoring firm -- said that drivers headed from the North Shore to the South Shore and vice versa should avoid downtown Boston and take Route 128 around the city.
He also expects tie-ups in the Sumner Tunnel, which will now be the only direct route to get from Logan to I-93. The I-90 connector tunnel, closed after last week's fatality, remains shut indefinitely, forcing motorists bound for Logan to use detours through the Callahan Tunnel.
Yesterday, the MBTA unveiled plans for Silver Line bus service from the airport in a dedicated lane through the Ted Williams Tunnel that is normally used only by State Police and is not open to the general public
Romney said he doesn't anticipate any more closings, but did not rule them out if more safety problems are found.
The state plans to open a previously closed onramp from South Boston to the Ted Williams Tunnel eastbound by the end of the week.
While motorists try to figure out new ways to get to work and run errands, federal and state investigators are trying to determine what went wrong when Del Valle was killed and whether anyone should be held criminally responsible.
Inspectors are focusing on the bolt-and-epoxy fasteners. The fasteners include bolts set in epoxy in holes drilled into the concrete, fastening metal plates to the tunnel roof. From the plates, which are supposed to be flush with the roof, tieback rods suspend steel beams supporting the concrete ceiling panels. The panels create a ventilation duct for the tunnels.
Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly said Saturday that three of the bolts that were supposed to hold up the concrete panels that fell on Del Valle's car had no epoxy on them. Investigators have found 19 of the 20 bolts in question, and others showed an uneven distribution of the epoxy, a high-strength glue, Reilly said.
According to a document from the governor's office, inspectors by Friday had found about 12,800 of the bolt-and-epoxy fasteners in the Big Dig tunnels and ramps that officials plan to resecure with another type of anchoring system. Officials will not use the bolt-and-epoxy method and are looking at three potential alternatives .
Yesterday, crews examined the ceiling over the Exit 24 ramp, doing a ``pull test" on the remaining bolts and seeking a new way to connect the concrete ceiling slabs.
The Ted Williams Tunnel is less of a problem, Romney said, because the ceiling panels there are only 800 pounds, not 2 1/2 to 3 tons, as in the I-90 connector tunnel.
Romney, whose administration took over control Friday from the Turnpike Authority of the inspections and safety checks spinning out of Del Valle's death, said he has personally inspected the ceiling panels over the Ted Williams.
``The lieutenant governor and I crawled up in there over the weekend," the governor said at a press conference. ``The panels are much narrower. . . . They are not 4-inch-thick slabs of concrete. There are many more fasteners holding them up, the beefiness of the fasteners is much more substantial, and there is no indication of movement. They are right exactly where they were when they were installed 11 years ago."
Mac Daniel of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Adrienne P. Samuels can be reached at asamuels@globe.com. 