MassDOT Says Ted Williams Tunnel Lights Should Be Fixed By October
BOSTON (CBS) - Why are so many of the lights in the Ted Williams Tunnel still out? MassDOT says crews are working on it, and are scheduled to have them back on by October. That would be a full year after a problem with the light fixtures first popped up.
"It's hazardous if you ask me, trying to drive through there and keep an eye on what you're doing," says Uber driver Barry Irmer.
WBZ first asked MassDOT about the lights after a viewer inquired in February. In a statement back then, the agency said, "On Monday, February 22, crews are scheduled to begin installing wiring in ceiling areas above the slow travel lane. When that work is completed, the light fixtures that were removed and cleaned will be reinstalled."
Three months later, limo driver Jay Shortall now says, "I figured since then, they'd be fixed, but it doesn't seem to be the case."
It stems from a routine MassDOT inspection last fall that showed hundreds of springnuts securing light fixtures were cracked. That triggered an inspection of all tunnel lights, which still have not all been reinstalled.
A MassDOT spokesperson sent a statement explaining crews spent the winter working on the eastbound side of the tunnel. "Work involved removing any fixture with a cracked nut, cleaning the fixture, and reinstalling with all new nuts. MassDOT is beginning the same process in the right lane of the westbound side."
MassDOT says the work will be done during overnight hours, and asks drivers to turn on headlights in the tunnel from now until it's finished in October.
