For those that don’t know about the Big Dig (or the Big Pig) as I call it, you can get an idea about what my rant is about here http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7161103/
As if driving in a flooded tunnel isn’t bad enough, there is another problem…a big problem.
The cables that hold up the new bridge have been shedding 30-40 pound boulders of ice. Not only are they falling off, but they are also hitting peoples cars as they use the bridge. See the cables here http://www.masspike.com/bigdig/multimedia/photo_oct04.html
Tell me, just how many engineers would actually do this? You don’t hang cables over a road way, especially if you live in an area that can have miserable winters like we have here.
Howie Carr (a writer for the Boston Herald and has a radio talk show) had callers come up with ideas of how to prevent accidents being caused from these large blocks of ice. The best suggestion from one caller was to shut the bridge down when it gets over 32 degrees as that is when the ice thaws. Once the air is back to below freezing, it should be safe to use…only until it warms up again.
My parents still complain bitterly about having to pay for this…aren’t we all still paying (I still file taxes out there)? But I must admit that it is kinda cool to look at from a distance.
I moved from North of Boston to South of Boston last year, and am so glad that my commute no longer involves tunnels or bridges. Floods? Falling ice? No, thanks.
What astounded me was that the designer of the bridge alleges that this has never been a problem on similar bridges in other countries with cold weather. He did not offer any explanations as to what would account for that, though.
:dubious:
You know, it is pretty standard that a tunnel will leak to some extent. It’s also standard that any construction project has wrinkles that need to be ironed out; that’s why there are punch lists that have jobs to be completed before final payment is made.
One of the big reasons that people are getting worked up about all the Big Dig problems is that they are being allowed to traverse an active construction site. You wouldn’t have people move into a new house before a certificate of occupancy is issued. Granted, there’s no way to keep traffic going through Boston without continuing to keep I-93 open, but I really wish that people would stop jumping on every little thing that goes wrong.
I’m not arguing that there hasn’t been a great deal of mismanagement, but any state job is bound to have a bucketload of that. Please, please try to remember that nothing like the Big Dig has ever been done before. The sheer size of the project, and the very challenging site conditions, in addition to having to maintain traffic on the roadway makes the project a huge challenge.
Question for you CivEngs out there: if The Dig tunnels are actually unstable, would their collapse undermine the structures above them? Is Boston in imminent danger of a serious real estate devaluation?
The Dig has really been entertaining for those of us who don’t live in Beantown, but gaw, it must be a nightmare for all involved contractors, engineers, city planners, aldermen, and of course citizens affected.
Chepos’ Law: No large project ever gets built on time or under budget.
The Dig Corollary: The more ambitious your project, the more incomptence and lack of foresight will dominate the outcome.
Morton Thiokol Lemma: Small oversights result in catastrophic failures.
Actually, the big reason the Big Dig used to piss me off is that I’m still sitting in traffic for the same amount of time as I used to (whenever I need to go Logan, otherwise I’m a Route 2 type of girl). Promises, promises. My irritation levesl have subsided dramatically since my father figured out the mysterious taxidriver route through Chelsea along the Mystic, though. Aside from the vague feeling that there are tons of mother victims along the route it’s a much better deal.
In general, there aren’t buildings above the Big Dig. It was built in the right-of-way that the highway already ran through. The powers that be guaranteed that no construction would be conducted on the site of the former roadway. It’s to be all open space.
If there are buildings on top, they would almost certainly be founded on piles, perhaps to bedrock. Boston Blue Clay is nasty stuff to work with (hence some of the cost overruns and delays), and the people who built the structures in the first place would have dealt with that. Years of engineering work went in to the design of the Big Dig, and along teh way, somebody must have thought of existing structures as a concern. During construction, adjacent building have been monitored for settlement, so at least one person didn’t have their head up their butt.
There are a few buildings planned for the surface area, but not very large ones because of deck load. The Mass. Horticultural Society has not yet given up the Winter Garden near South Station, for instance.
The tunnels aren’t in actual danger of collapse, but the leaks have been more extensive than expected, even if much of the problem is due to the project’s incompleteness.
Damn straight it’s been a nightmare to live with, Stranger. But I’ve noticed a much better traffic flow from the north already, despite not all lanes being opened yet.
Just one more reason I’m glad I live on the other end of the state. Even when we move, we will not move any farther east than Worcester. That’s as close to Boston, it’s traffic, and contstruction as we’re willing to get.
This past July 4, I spent the day out in the harbor. I remember thinking how ugly the city had become. All I could see was bridges, roads, and more bridges and roads. Oh yeah, I saw a dolphin too. That was cool
