Driver killed in tunnel by falling conduit 1

[bridgebuster]

I use this tunnel on a regular basis and never thought twice about the overhead conduits or jet fans.

Link

This is on the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike; north of Allentown.

 

[dgallup]

Strange that is the only tunnel with conduit above the traffic. I'm surprised that they built that tunnel relatively recently (1991). On the main E-W stretch of the PA turnpike they have removed many of the tunnels I remember driving through as a kid.

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[3DDave]

How does one remove a tunnel?

 

[dik]

because of cooler surfaces, could this be fastener corrosion caused by condensation? [added] Big Dig?

Dik

 

[EdStainless]

Why most tunnels do not have any stuff hanging over the traffic lanes.

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[JohnRBaker]

How does one remove a tunnel?

I suspect that as highways are widened, that it's sometimes easier to simply reroute them.

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[IRstuff]

"Why most tunnels do not have any stuff hanging over the traffic lanes.

I seem to recall certain sections of the "Big Dig" has having HUGE slabs of concrete hanging from the roof, one of which fell and killed a motorist.

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[dik]

I thought I'd commented on this... Due to wrong epoxy being supplied and creep due to rapid setting epoxies.

Dik

 

[racookpe1978]

I thought the concrete sections falling in Boston were the decorative liner (tiles ?) of the top of the tunnel, not the structural tunnel liner itself.

Lights, vent fans and vent fan inlet screens, fire fighting water supplies? Haven't looked much up at the tunnel interiors when I go through them. The tunnels are washed regularly to clean deposits, so they get a lot of water and combustion by-products highly concentrated up there.

 

[stevenal]

Why most tunnels do not have any stuff hanging over the traffic lanes.

I think that should be "...do have stuff hanging..."

Link

 

[cranky108]

I have read where the railroads were removing tunnels (because they were not tall enough) by open airing them. Sounded like a lot of dirt moving, but likely cheaper than increasing the head space.

If it's a sign in a tunnel or an over head sign on another part of a highway, what difference does it make? Except I can see the epoxy issue.

Then again, I haven't driven through many tunnels, as most highways here use cuts and not tunnels.

 

[racookpe1978]

I used that tunnel coming back to Philly after my last job in PA. Sobering to know I drove under this same conduit not too many months ago.

 

[hokie66]

The statement was that the other tunnels did not need to be checked because the conduit was above ceilings. I would want the ceilings checked, because as others said, the ceiling in the Boston tunnel fell.

 

[bridgebuster]

@racookePe1978 - and don't forget those huge jet fans down the middle.

The four vehicular tunnels in NYC don't have anything significant hanging from the ceilings. At the Queens-Midtown and Brooklyn Battery Unnels the ceilings were replaced post-"Big-Dig" but I believe the panels are supported on the walls.

 

[Canuck65]

If I remember correctly, the concrete panels in the Boston tunnel formed the bottom of the ventilation plenum (not just decorative). They were hung from the top of the tunnel structure. They had to be very heavy to resist the uplift forces generated when the ventilation fans kicked into high gear, the speed of the design airflow was massive.

 

[bimr]

DeFebo said the Lehigh Tunnel’s southbound tube is the only tunnel in the system in which electrical conduit is directly above drivers. In older tunnels, the pipes are located with ventilation equipment in a parallel utility tunnel above the roadway.

He said the tunnel’s most recent inspection occurred in September 2016. The agency in December sought bids to replace Lehigh Tunnel lights, with work expected to begin this spring.

If the Turnpike was planning to replace the lighting system this spring, it may be assumed that the lighting installation must have been in a very poor state of repair.

 

[davidbeach]

Or that they wanted to replace HID lighting with LED lighting.

 

[dik]

They had to be very heavy to resist the uplift forces generated when the ventilation fans kicked into high gear, the speed of the design airflow was massive.

My understanding, too... and the wrong epoxy was supplied... a quick setting type that had poor 'creep' characteristics.

Dik

 

[bimr]

The truck driver was unlucky to be struck in the head as can be shown in the photos.

https://www.overdriveonline.com/trucker-killed-by-falling-electrical-conduit-in-pa-turnpike-tunnel/

 

[MacGyverS2000]

What photos?

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