MEMORANDUM
TO:
FR:
RE:
DA:
Richard A. Davey, Secretary & CEO
Frank DePaola, Highway Division Administrator
Ongoing Work in the MHS Tunnels
December 1, 2011
To follow is a summary of maintenance and construction activities performed last week
in the Metropolitan Highway System tunnels.
Please feel free to contact me if you need additional information.
Overnight work:
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Continuing substructure repairs in the Storrow Tunnel. Contractors performed
finishing work on the recently poured concrete.
Workers inspected cross-passage doors in a section of the I-93 Northbound
Tunnel. Cross-passages link parallel sections of the tunnel system. Workers
performed routine maintenance on passage doors. Workers also removed and
replaced the rolling assemblies at the top and bottom of one door. In addition,
they installed new roller tracks and replaced steel parts with non-corrosive
stainless steel.
MassDOT repaired ten isolation joints above the plenum ceiling at Ramp R-T in
the vicinity of I-93 Northbound. The plenum is similar to a drop ceiling in an
office building, and allows workers easier access to the tunnel system. Isolation
joints allow sections of the tunnel to expand and contract with weather and
temperature changes.
MassDOT repaired an overhead AM antenna after wire fell to the roadway
surface in the I-93 Northbound Tunnel as the result of an overheight truck strike.
Workers had previously removed approximately 150 feet of wire from the tunnel.
The most recent work is a repair to the antenna itself. Permanent wire repair and
replacement are scheduled for next week.
MassDOT replaced 150 light bulbs and 65 ballasts in the I-93 Northbound Tunnel
and on adjacent ramps.
MassDOT replaced twenty cases of lamps and 12 ballasts in the I-93 Southbound
Tunnel and performed preventative maintenance on electrical cabinets in nearby
fan rooms.
MassDOT replaced ten cases of lights, changed two lenses and replaced 13
ballasts in the HOV tunnel.
Workers performed the annual inspection of the City Square (CANA) Northbound
Tunnel.
Workers completed the routine inspection of Boston Properties structures in the
Prudential Tunnel Eastbound. The property overhead is owned and maintained by
Boston Properties.
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Safety inspectors inspected fire extinguishers in the I-90 Eastbound Connector
Tunnel to ensure that extinguishers were up to date and charged.
MassDOT is in the process of installing a carbon dioxide detection system in the
Prudential Tunnel (I-90) Westbound.
A maintenance crew inspected and performed preventative maintenance on four
jet fans in the ramp areas connecting the Sumner Tunnel to the Surface Artery and
to I-93 Northbound.
MassDOT’s environmental section is in the process of cleaning out a pump
station in Vent Building 4. The work required a lane closure on a ramp from I-93
Southbound in the vicinity of Exit 24.
Crews performed maintenance work the camera and radio system in the I-90
Eastbound Tunnel in the vicinity of Exit 20 (and adjacent ramps). The crew
cleaned lenses on 14 cameras and performed maintenance work on the radio
antenna system nearby.
Daytime work:
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Soil test borings in the vicinity of Vent Building 1, near South Station, are
complete. Contractors are now completing installation of testing instruments.
MassDOT decided not to bore a hole in the area of the railroad tracks because of
the likely expense, the need to cut power to the railroad tracks, and the likelihood
that the boring in that area would yield limited data. MassDOT expects to
provide a full report on sample testing results by year’s end.