Route 128 deemed safe, despite chunks that fell from Weston bridge

[unhappycamper]

Route 128 deemed safe, despite chunks that fell from Weston bridge
By Globe Staff

Concrete chunks fell from an overpass onto Route 128 in Weston yesterday afternoon, popping the tires on three cars. But a highway official says that repairs were made last night and there’s no need to worry about a recurrence today.

The chunks fell at about 4:40 p.m. from a 50-year-old bridge that carries an exit ramp from the Massachusetts Turnpike over Route 128, said Massachusetts Turnpike Authority spokesman Mac Daniel.

Daniel said the chunks, which broke into baseball-size pieces after they hit the northbound side of road, were not from a load-bearing portion of the bridge, so there was no need to be concerned about the bridge’s strength. He said the concrete came from a part of the bridge that was "more of a structural detail."

Workers visually inspected the portion of the bridge over the Charles River and the northbound lanes and tested for other questionable sections of concrete with hammers, chipping away any loose pieces.

They also visually inspected the portion over the southbound lanes and will perform physical tests and chipping later today, beginning at about 9 p.m., he said.


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[Ian David]

1. Explain to me again how it is we're not "fighting them over here"? n/t

[friendly_iconoclast]

2. Wotta load of shit

Anyone familiar with the intersection of 128 and the Mass Pike knows that these roads
are absolutely *pounded* by traffic, not to mention that they are built right next to
(and in some cases, over) the Charles River.

"No need to be concerned", my pale Irish ass!