Chicken Little in the Big Dig

[unixronin]

Well, OK, the sky isn't falling.  But apparently some pretty big chunks of the Big Dig tunnel ceilings did.  12 tons of concrete panels fell from the roof of a connector tunnel last night, crushing a car and killing a woman on her way to Logan Airport.

The failure is apparently because a steel tieback supporting the panels failed.  There are 60 similar panels in the tunnel, and all 60 are now being removed.  A larger concern is that the same panels and the same tiebacks are used in 17 other places throughout the Big Dig.  Does this mean they're all going to have to be removed?  If so, what will replace them, and how much will it cost, and how long will those tunnels be closed?

This isn't the first problem with the Big Dig.  I have a feeling it won't be the last.

Comments

[jilara.livejournal.com]

Isn't that related to the fact that Swedes have a thing for "middle of the road/adequate" that doesn't quite translate to a lot of other cultures? I say more power to them.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

I don't know about that. It seems to me like a carefully thought out strategy to get an honest contractor to do the job at a fair price, rather than the US system of "Try to get it for the lowest possible price, no matter what the consequences." I'll certainly pick "middle of the road" over "bottom dollar" every time, if I have the choice.