Mass. Restricts Trucks on Part of ‘Big Dig’ Project

The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority is placing a weight limit for trucks on the Leverett Connector in Boston, related to the city’s $15 billion “Big Dig” construction project, the Associated Press reported.

An authority spokesman said that trucks weighing 40 tons and up will not be allowed to use the roadway because of a crack in a section of the structure, AP reported.

The restriction applies to trucks leaving the Tobin Bridge and traveling southbound either to Leverett Circle and Storrow Drive or to Interstate 93 and the Zakim Bridge, AP said.

The crack was discovered during a review of the Big Dig and related roads and was reported at the authority’s meeting late last month.



The authority said the road is safe, but it is taking “an ultra-conservative approach,” AP said. It said the crack is being monitored and has not changed since April.

The weight limit is being imposed at the recommendation of the Federal Highway Administration, in a letter dated Aug. 21 and received last week, and repair work is expected to begin soon and to be completed by Nov. 1, AP reported.

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