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Why did the Big Dig ceiling collapse?

The National Transportation Safety Board released a report on the one-year anniversary of the disaster, that attributed the major cause of the collapse to epoxy creep.



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The project was plagued due to construction delays, cost overruns, flaws in the design, poor execution, use of low-quality material, and construction accidents. As per the earlier estimation, the project should have been completed by the end of 1998 with an estimated cost of USD 2.8 billion.

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The original estimated cost was $2.8 billion. The final project cost was $14.6 billion. The Boston Globe estimates the Big Dig will ultimately cost $22 billion (with interest) and that it won't be paid for until 2038.

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Aggregate provided 60% of the concrete used to build the Big Dig. Indicted were: former general manager Robert Prosperi; dispatch manager Marc Blais; dispatch manager John Farrar; quality control manager McNally; district operations manager Gregory Stevenson; and dispatch manager Keith Thomas.

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Planning began in 1982; the construction work was carried out between 1991 and 2006; and the project concluded on December 31, 2007, when the partnership between the program manager and the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority ended.

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The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the July 10, 2006, ceiling collapse in the D Street portal of the Interstate 90 connector tunnel in Boston, Massachusetts, was the use of an epoxy anchor adhesive with poor creep resistance, that is, an epoxy formulation that was not capable ...

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With interest, the project could ultimately cost around $24 billion, finally getting paid off in 2038. Besides creating a financial nightmare, the Big Dig was plagued by huge constructional flaws – which obviously added fuel to the fiscal firestorm.

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The Sumner Tunnel was opened on June 30, 1934. It carried traffic in both directions until the opening of the parallel Callahan Tunnel in 1961. The Sumner Tunnel is named for William H. Sumner, the son of Governor Increase Sumner.

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Perhaps ironically, the Blue Line takes several points of pride from its proximity to water, which gives it its name. Local historians claim the tunnel that runs under the harbor as the first underwater subway tunnel in the United States.

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