New Round Of Big Dig Repairs Could Cost State $1 Million
BOSTON (CBS) - Get ready for some weekend lane closures at the Big Dig.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports
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They're planning do some re-paving work during the overnight hours for three weekends, starting June 16.
State highway administrator Frank DePaola told WBZ NewsRadio 1030 Thursday they'll fix an area where the concrete is crumbling.
"The most deteriorated or severe section is (Interstate) 93 northbound as you come out of the portal of the main O'Neill Tunnel and you're making the transition from the tunnel to the Zakim Bridge. There's about a 600-foot section of roadway that's open to the air and that is where we're experiencing most of the pavement failures and potholes."
That concrete was supposed to last for at least 30 years. It will be replaced with asphalt.
"It's very likely that the asphalt would have stood up better to the snow plow operations and the weather here in New England," DePaola told WBZ, adding that concrete is used in drier and warmer sections of the country.
It will cost $200,000 to repave that strip of road.
But DePaola said there's more work that needs to be done and that could drive up the bill to $1 million.
The state can't charge the contractor, Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, to pay for these new repairs, because it has already paid Massachusetts for damages in a global settlement on Big Dig defects several years ago.
