Mass. bridge inspector warned Boston months before street light fell
Pole fell on a pedestrian around 3 p.m. Tuesday
Pole fell on a pedestrian around 3 p.m. Tuesday
Pole fell on a pedestrian around 3 p.m. Tuesday
The city of Boston received a warning about the poor condition of its street lights on the Moakley Bridge nearly two months before a street light fell, seriously injuring a pedestrian, 5 Investigates has learned.
The email, dated Aug. 1 from a MassDOT engineer to an engineer with the city of Boston, came with the recent bridge inspection report attached.
In his email, essentially an informal cover letter to accompany the attached inspection report, the MassDOT engineer singles out the poor condition of the street lights, referred to as lighting standards in engineering parlance.
"Attached is a PDF copy of a recent bridge inspection performed by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation in the city of Boston. See also the attached letter," the email begins.
But then the engineer adds this before signing off: "Some of the lighting standards have 100% section loss at the bases and need attention."
The full inspection report goes on to detail a number of problems with the street lights, namely corroding metal at the bottom of the poles and corroding, or spalling, concrete at their bases.
In its report, the state rated the damage to the poles as "severe/major"... and assigned its urgency of repair as "ASAP," defined in the report as "Action/Repair should be initiated ... upon receipt of the Inspection Report."
In response, a spokesperson for Mayor Michelle Wu pointed out that the city sent the state inspection report to a consultant two days after receiving it, and is still waiting for the consultant to devise a repair plan.
Bridge inspections are conducted every other year in accordance with a federal mandate.
Overall, the condition of the lighting standards were rated a 5 on a 9-point scale, a rating that corresponds with "fair" condition, which is defined as "all primary structural elements are sound but may have minor section loss, cracking, spalling or scour." But some individual street light poles were designated as having the "severe/major" category of damage.
The new details are coming to light after a 35-year-old woman was struck by a falling street light pole Tuesday while she walked across the Moakley Bridge, which connects Atlantic Avenue and Sleeper Street.
5 Investigates has learned the victim is in serious condition and is being treated at Tufts Medical Center.
"The woman was laying on the sidewalk between the lamppost and the guardrail, sort of, and she wasn't moving for a while," said Michael Kriley, who saw the pole strike the woman.
"Her head was on the concrete, pushed against the railing — the metal railing," Kriley said. "I don't know if she was with friends or family, but, eventually, somebody started to help her sit up."
The city said "out of an abundance of caution," 23 poles of the same age from the bridge were removed.
Temporary lighting will be installed on the Moakley Bridge to ensure adequate lighting levels until a permanent replacement can be installed, the city said.
In the wake of the incident, Boston City Council President Ed Flynn announced Wednesday evening that he is requesting a full audit of bridges and light poles in the city to ensure the safety of residents and visitors alike.
"Moreover, due to the corrosion and deterioration caused by salt water and sea air, it would be appropriate to place an emphasis on all light poles located on bridges, as well as prioritizing those in close proximity to the ocean," Flynn said in a statement. "In the interest of public safety, I ask that the City of Boston continue to work closely with our state and federal partners to prevent an incident like this from occurring again."
The Evelyn Moakley Bridge, named after the late wife of former Congressman Joe Moakley, and street lights were built in the 1990s by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) as part of the "Big Dig" project.
When the city received the inspection report on Aug. 1, officials said it was provided to a bridge consulting firm two days later in order to develop a work plan based on that report. As of Wednesday, that work plan was still in development.