it keeps gettin' funnier and funnier

The former project manager for the Big Dig's main contractor has cautioned state officials that safety tests on the epoxy bolts upholding concrete ceiling panels in the Ted Williams Tunnel may have damaged their long-term integrity.

In a memo sent on Aug. 2, Keith S. Sibley of Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff said recent tests by state inspectors have used 8,500 pounds of pressure to check the strength of the panels, much more than the load they were designed to support.

"We have some concern that this load, approximately five times the dead load and in excess of the vender's published allowable tension load, may cause damage to the epoxy adhesive that is not readily apparent, but might impact its long-term integrity," wrote Sibley, who remains a senior official at Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff.

from Big Dig firm warns tests might do damage