US sees flaw in Zakim Bridge

US sees flaw in Zakim Bridge
By Scott Allen, Globe Staff | August 17, 2007

Six steel plates that hold in place support cables of the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge show signs of warping, and the state needs to quickly determine whether they present a hazard to tens of thousands of people who cross the bridge daily, according to a federal inspector general's report obtained by the Globe.

The report labeled the deformed plates an "immediate or dangerous condition" and said they could be a sign that the plates are overstressed.

But a top state official said last night that an investigation by his agency had already determined that the plates became warped when they were originally welded and thus do not reflect excessive stress or pose a safety risk.

"It is not a safety issue, but rather a defect associated with the installation," said Bernard Cohen, the state transportation secretary and chairman of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, which maintains the bridge over the Charles River.

However, the warping was not seen in the state's 2005 inspection of the bridge or during quality checks before the span opened in 2003, according to the federal report. The report said a construction flaw should have been identified in those earlier inspections, suggesting that the warping might have occurred later.



more