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John Dodge

Boston's Tobin Bridge: Battered, bent and shaky

August 2, 2007

The huge Maurice J. Tobin Bridge that links Boston and the communities to the north is just three years shy of its 60^th birthday. Every morning and sometimes in the evening, the two and one quarter mile cantilevered truss bridge backs up with Boston’s famously awful bumper to bumper traffic. With the horrific Minneapolis I-35 bridge collapse last night, it makes one trapped in traffic on "The Tobin" all more nervous.

I have been mid-span which the roadway bump literally starts bouncing which is especially pronounced when a trick goes by. I’m told it’s supposed to do this to relieve stress. Nonetheless, it’s unnerving given you’re 135 feet above busy Boston Harbor represented at that point by the Mystic River. The sensation of potential danger is accentuated by a large and much publicized LNG depot about a fifth of a mile upriver.

And it’s an old bridge like many in America. On Sept. 10, 1973, an overloaded gravel truck was headed north and hit a bridge beam bringing down a section of the southbound roadway above. A similar accident occurred in 1995. Besides localized damage, the bridge as a whole stood tall. And 34 days after the 1973 accident, the bridge was threatened yet again by a giant fire that destroyed 18 city blocks in Chelsea, Mass.

Posted by John Dodge on August 2, 2007 | Comments (10)

Industries: Minneapolis Interstate 35 Bridge Collapse

September 16, 2009

In response to: Boston's Tobin Bridge: Battered, bent and shaky
the BOSTONIAN commented:

Sue not from Boston anymore,
So typical of a fake wanna be hater. Good riddens. Thanks doing Boston a favor by moving to NYC & making it that much worse....LMFAO!

April 18, 2009

In response to: Boston's Tobin Bridge: Battered, bent and shaky
sue not from boston anymore commented:

so typical of boston. here's a catastrophe and people are discussing language. so glad I don't live there anymore. NYC and glad!!!

August 21, 2007

In response to: Boston's Tobin Bridge: Battered, bent and shaky
John Dodge commented:

Jeremiah,

The 1973 accident was not on a ramp. It was on the lower main deck heading north. The gravel hit a beam which collapsed a section of the southbound deck above it. That's my recollection of seeing the damage.

August 5, 2007

In response to: Boston's Tobin Bridge: Battered, bent and shaky
Jeremiah Prescott commented:

The 1973 overloaded truck incident (gravel truck almost 100% over weight limit; its driver's body was trapped in the wreckage for several weeks) occurred off the bridge structure on an approach highway in Chelsea. The 1995 incident was also on a separate bridge. The usual hysteria and axe-grinding; somebody wants massive tax increases so they can spend a lot of money. Meantime road salting is causing excessive corrosion on whatever gets built. How many of you avoided going under the now-demolished overpass at Sullivan Square? Did you notice the 8x10wooden timbers stacked to support it and all the corrosion on the steel? No wonder it was closed to traffic and I avoided stopping under it. As for spelling: there is a difference between typos and phonetic misspellings. It all goes with the general dumbness of the age. O for the days of Mssrs. Howe, Pratt, and Warren and the age of pin-connected members instead of the dull monotony of plate girders. I still think the piers of the collapsed bridge are the key.

August 3, 2007

In response to: Boston's Tobin Bridge: Battered, bent and shaky
Spellchecker commented:

And three is spelled three, not thre.

August 3, 2007

In response to: Boston's Tobin Bridge: Battered, bent and shaky
Know what I mean? commented:

Hmm is spelled with two ms, not thre. Hmm.

August 3, 2007

In response to: Boston's Tobin Bridge: Battered, bent and shaky
Chelsea Resident commented:

It is quite unnerving to be living within site of the Tobin Bridge and thinking of what happened in Minneapolis days ago. With a bridge that is almost 60 years old, of this magnitude, does Massport have any plans for replacement of the bridge in the future? Luckily, I only take the bridge one day out of the week.

August 3, 2007

In response to: Boston's Tobin Bridge: Battered, bent and shaky
Bridge Lover commented:

Hmmm . . . that would be "correctly" sir, not "correct." Ironic that you should be criticizing Mr. Allen's spelling!

August 3, 2007

In response to: Boston's Tobin Bridge: Battered, bent and shaky
Informed commented:

Please no one take the advice of someone who can''t spell responsibility correct and makes comments with incorrect information. Massport is responsible for the Tobin Bridge, not the Turnpike Authority.

August 3, 2007

In response to: Boston's Tobin Bridge: Battered, bent and shaky
Jon Allen commented:

Since the Tobin Bridge is now the responsability of the Mass Turnpike Authority, and they have already proven their oversight ability with the Big Dig tunnel collapse, I will be taking alternate routes around the Tobin, especially during heavy traffic hours (which are an ever increasing percentage of every day).

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