MassDOT To Manage Issues Like Big Dig Leaks 'As They Arise'
BOSTON (CBS) - Two sections of the I-90 connecter tunnel under South Boston are leaking, and at times, there are hundreds of gallons of water rushing in every hour. It's the biggest leak in the Big Dig.
Incoming transportation secretary Richard Davey said fixing it will be challenging, but manageable.
"This administration did not build the Big Dig and we are not going to rip it out of the ground. And it's incumbent upon the men and women at the DOT to manage the issues as they arise," said Davey.
WBZ-TV's Paul Burton reports.
Officials said drivers are safe because all of the water is able to be pumped out. But so far, none of the temporary repairs have worked.
On Saturday, officials came close to completing what was another problem: the I-93 14-bridge replacement project.
"Problems will arise. We have old infrastructure across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, so it's incumbent upon us, when those problems arise, to manage it and we are like we are today with the decks behind us," said Davey.
The problem is around what's called the super plug. It was supposed to connect two tunnels by the Fort Point Channel, but there's a gap, at times six inches wide, with water rushing in.
Up above in a parking lot along the South Station is the buckling pavement and fence: signs of the sinking soil around the Big Dig tunnel below that 50,000 commuters use everyday.
Davey said the thawing of the frozen soil over the past nine years has resulted in greater settlement than originally predicted. Now, they have to fix it no matter the cost.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Mark Katic reports about the end of the Fast-14 project:
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"We reserved, I believe, $10 million set aside (and) budgeted for, but the frozen soil is something that's been managed and been observed for the last several years," said Davey.
But, they are still working on a permanent fix.
When engineers originally built the tunnel system, they froze the soil in some places, to keep it from collapsing. But now, that soil is sinking twice as quickly as engineers expected.
