February 20, 2008 Tunnel design makes Big Dig inspections difficult Play video

(NECN: Boston, Mass.) - Big Dig tunnel inspectors are running into new problems. They say the design of the Ted Williams Tunnel in Boston, Massachusetts makes it impossible to test the strength of thousands of bolts.

The Boston Herald reports inspectors can't test the strength of about 4,000 epoxy bolts supporting the tunnel's ceiling because there is no crawl space.

The "stem to stem" review was promised by former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney following a ceiling collapse in a connector tunnel in July 2006 that killed a Boston woman.

Gary Klein of Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, which is leading the review, says the bolts do not appear to pose a safety threat because of redundancies built in to the ceiling's design.

Big Dig officials say lighter ceiling panels and the proper epoxy were used in the Ted Williams Tunnel, compared to the tunnel where the collapse occurred.

NECN reporter Brad Puffer has the details.