Safety of Big Dig tunnels under review

They've been dubbed the "ginsu guardrails" because of the number of serious injuries and fatalities linked to them.

Now MassDOT has launched an internal investigation into the safety concerns surrounding the railings.

Doc D'Errico with the Massachusetts Motorcycle Association said, "You'd think that one fatality should be enough - it often is - for them to look into things. It seems like there's several fatalities, and in this particular case it seems like the majority of fatalities - seven out of nine - were motorcycles."

D'Errico says the railing posts are spaced too far apart, have sharp edges, and are too low to the ground.

"It's surprising that they took safety rails that could have been cheaper and safer and used something far more expensive that turned out to be dangerous," said D'Errico.

Transportation Secretary Jeffrey Mullan released a statement saying, "We convened a committee of senior-level engineers with expertise in safety, crash railing systems, and structural design that will review the issue and detail its findings and recommendations... by the end of the month."

Lawmakers say they are frustrated with the ongoing problems with the Big Dig.

State Senator Steven Baddour said, "It's the nightmare that never ends."

Baddour says once MassDOT completes its internal investigation the Joint Committee on Transportation will decide whether there's a need for an oversight hearing.

"The professionals need to look at it, they need to come up with a report and we'll take whatever action we need to take to ensure the public that the tunnel system is safe," said Senator Baddour.

MassDOT says, "Walkway railings in the Big Dig tunnels... met all federal and state safety standards at the time of construction almost a decade ago."

But D'Errico says that doesn't matter.

"They had safety inspections for the ceiling tiles and they fell and so it just goes to show there's a lot more under the covers here and I think they need to look at the whole project and see what else went wrong," said D'Errico.