25 Years and $14.6 Billion Later…
The Big Dig: A Timeline
[Central Artery/Tunnel Map, Click to Enlarge]
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January - I-90 Connector from South Boston to Rt. 1A in East Boston opens in January. I-93 Northbound opens in March. I-93 Southbound opens in December.
January 17 - The Turnpike Authority says the-then $6.5 billion tunnel has been inspected before opening. The tunnel ceiling panels are not part of the inspection
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September 15 - A huge breach in a panel inside the I-93 southbound tunnel leads to flooding, halting rush-hour traffic and later turning part of the roadway into a skating rink as temperatures fall. Engineers later reveal that there are more than 1,000 leaks and faulty spots and gaps in the walls.
[Ceiling panels that collapsed, killing Milena Del Valle]
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July 10 - Milena Del Valle and her husband are driving in the eastbound lane of the I-90 Connector tunnel to Logan Airport when 20 bolts come loose, releasing 10 ceiling panels. Several of the 4,500-pound panels fall onto the car, killing Del Valle
July 11 - Official state and federal investigations begin
July 12 - Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly says Big Dig construction managers knew for at least seven years about problems with the bolts. Tests conducted in 1999, four years before the connector tunnel opened, showed that the bolts had a tendency to come loose. But it is not clear whether the problem was addressed, says Reilly, who considers manslaughter charges in the case and looks into liability.
July 13 - Congress approves a $20 million “stem to stern” safety review of the Central Artery system. The National Transportation Safety Board sends a six-person team to investigate
July 14 - Investigators focus on a possible cause of the collapse: the failure of the epoxy used to fasten the suspended ceiling bolts to the tunnel roof.
July 18 - State inspectors conclude that 1,146 hangers suspended from the connector tunnel roof by bolts and epoxy are unreliable. A second support bolt is ordered to be installed beside each suspect one.
July 27 - Massachusetts Turnpike Authority Board Chairman Matthew Amorello resigns
August 29 - The family of Milena Del Valle files charges against several companies involved in the Big Dig, including Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff
September 1 - The state reopens a single lane of traffic in the eastbound tunnel
October 5 - Attorney General Thomas Reilly convenes a grand jury to explore possible criminal charges
November 17 - “Stem to Stern” review released. A comprehensive engineering review of Boston’s highways, tunnels, and bridges, ordered after the fatal collapse of a tunnel ceiling in July, has found the road system to be “fundamentally safe,” Governor Mitt Romney says
November 27 - Attorney General Thomas Reilly announces plans to file civil suit against 15 companies tied to the Big Dig, and says they “should” face criminal manslaughter charges
December 23 - Westbound lanes open
[Clockwise, from upper left: Former Massachusetts Turnpike Board chairman, Matthew Amorello; State Attorney General Martha Coakely;
Former Massachusetts Governor, Mitt Romney]
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June 2 - After $54 million in repairs, the final section of the repaired tunnel opens
July 10 - Federal investigators blamed multiple Big Dig contractors and the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority for last summer’s fatal tunnel collapse, concluding that the wrong kind of glue was used to hold up part of the concrete ceiling and that project oversight was inadequate to detect the problem. They name ceiling designers Gannett Fleming, and industrial glue manufacturer Powers Fasteners Inc.
August 8 - Attorney General Martha Coakely indicts New York-based Powers Fasteners Inc. on one count of involuntary manslaughter. Under Massachusetts law, the company faces a maximum $1000 fine
December 12 - Family members of Milena Del Valle accept a $6 million settlement in their case against more than a dozen Big Dig companies, but not Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff
[Detour signs come down after Big Dig reopens]
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January 13 - The Boston Globe reports that Massachusetts Turnpike Authority records show that 237 leaks are going unchecked in the Big Dig
January 22 - The US House, led by Massachusetts Congressman Michael Capuano, approves a national highway tunnel inspection program aimed at preventing tragedies such as the Big Dig’s fatal ceiling collapse
January 23 - State and federal authorities announce a settlement of $458.2 million with the firms that designed and managed the Big Dig to avoid criminal charges and civil liability stemming from leaks, the fatal ceiling collapse, and other flaws that have plagued the project. State Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen says approximately $85 million of the award will go to repairs of some previously undisclosed Big Dig defects
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Now that the ground has thawed let’s go on an archaeological dig. What are some of the latest big local discoveries? What do historical artifacts teach us about our past?
