Nuts & Jolt$: 878 Big Dig fasteners damaged; repair cost unknown

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_coverage/2015/10/nuts_jolt_878_big_dig_fasteners_damaged_repair_cost_unknown



Nuts & Jolt$: 878 Big Dig fasteners damaged; repair cost unknown
Erin Smith Thursday, October 22, 2015

Hundreds of cracked or deteriorating nuts holding up Big Dig tunnel light fixtures must be replaced, but state highway officials say they have no idea how much it will cost taxpayers to fix the defective hardware.

Inspectors are still checking tunnel light systems with fiber optic cameras, but so far the probe has found 878 damaged nuts in the Ted Williams Tunnel and 49 nuts that need to be replaced in the I-90 Connector and the I-93 tunnels, according to MassDOT Highway Administrator Thomas Tinlin.

The highway chief insists the roads are safe for drivers, but the Big Dig tunnels have come under scrutiny before when a light fixture fell four years ago. In the past month, about 70 percent of fixtures in the Williams Tunnel have been checked, while only about 14 percent have been tested in the Connector and I-93 tunnels, said Tinlin, who expects to complete all light inspections by the end of November.

Revelations of the faulty fas­teners come after the Herald reported last week that taxpayers have been stuck with the plumbing bill for up to $7 million a year to fix Big Dig tunnel leaks that have deluged the underground highway system.