Longfellow Bridge update

This wasn't some little piece, this was a huge number of separate pieces!
 
statler said:
^^ What you are doing is setting a legal requirement for scrap yards to trace and verify the origins of every piece of metal that comes into their yard.

It's logistically impossible and any judge in their right mind would laugh it out of court.
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So this stuff was just unremarkable, and nobody would give it a second glance?

No great loss, then.
 
I'm sure the scrap yard gets lots of ornamental metal. I'm just not sure how you would set the criteria for which metal needs to be investigated before it is accepted and what is let through. Wherever the bar is set, it will be arbitrary and subject to different standards of 'value'.

BTW, this is assuming the metal was already destroyed by the time it was reported missing. If it was received or still intact after it was reported stolen, then they should hang.

Edit: One last point. I don't know if anyone has ever been to the scrapyard in Everett. It is a MASSIVE operation. This isn't some rinky-dink backyard shop with some piles of metal lying around.
 
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Don't you think that when two guys repeatedly showed up with the same ornamental metal in larges quantities, in state vehicles, and had either cash or checks made payable to them instead of the state, that the scrapyard should have been suspicious? I most certainly do!

If these two idiots thought they could get away with selling historic ornament, makes me wonder how much ordinary construction material, fencing, guard rails, lamp posts, etc have been vanishing from state storage yards over the years.
 
These guys supposedly drove up to the junk yard in a state truck and got cash for their scrap. A.) pulling up in a state truck and dumping lots of metal should have raised an eyebrow; B.) then paying these guys $12,000 in cash, and not making the state the party being paid, should have raised the other eyebrow.
 
Again, you guys are thinking Sanford & Sons.

The folks who received the metal and folks who actually paid the guys are almost certainly two different people working in two entirely different parts of the yard. The folks paying out the cash probably have no idea what they delivered nor what truck they came in. They were just another face in the line with a yard receipt.
 
Well, if the junkyard is that large an operation, they can afford to pay the bill for destroying state property. Taxpayers should not be on the hook for their misconduct.
 
To be honest I'm surprised any business would be will to do a 12k cash transaction with any party that wasn't properly identified. I know it's probably done to evade taxes, but in a case like this the scrap yard deserves to get burned for receiving that large of a quantity of stolen property.

It might cut down on theft if scrap yards were required to issue checks to verified accounts instead of handing out cash no questions asked.
 
I'm still unclear what misconduct they were are guilty of.

They only way they could have avoided it would be to trace any metal they deem to be 'unusual'. And that would be a completely arbitrary decision and given the sheer amount of metal they receive on a daily basis an enormous, if not impossible, task.

Edit:
Lurker said:
It might cut down on theft if scrap yards were required to issue checks to verified accounts instead of handing out cash no questions asked.
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That's a reasonable suggestion but it would not have really helped in this case.
 
Make the criminals pay. Seize their paychecks until the state is fully reimburse.
 
These bozo's delivered 100,000 pounds of scrap iron worth $500,000 to the Everett scrap metal yard and the yard pays these guys $12,000? First, this is no small feat transporting this amount of iron. Second, it is a crime to receive stolen property. The scrap yard has some serious questions to answer. The judge should throw the book at the two bozo's along with the scrap yard owners.
 
Boston Globe - May 1, 2009
Longfellow repairs may mean detours for some

May 1, 2009

State engineers planning a $280 million overhaul of the Longfellow Bridge are now proposing to shut down the Cambridge-bound lanes to cars during repairs - a move that could shave at least a year off the construction timetable.

The closure of both lanes of the bridge that connects Boston and Cambridge over the Charles River would send motorists around Leverett Circle to cross to Cambridge using the Craigie bridges near the Museum of Science. Those bridges are now slated for renovations that could be completed in 2011, when the Longfellow work would begin.

However, the detours could pose complications for the Charles River Basin and the Longfellow, used daily by an estimated 128,000 commuters.

Among the potential snags raised yesterday: The 14 1/2-foot space remaining in the single travel lane would be narrower than emergency officials typically advise, said Mike O'Dowd, the Massachusetts Highway Department project manager on the Longfellow, who led about 40 people on a site visit to the bridge yesterday afternoon.

He said officials are hoping to accommodate the space using technology, such as video cameras to monitor backups on the bridge and traffic lights to change patterns in the event of an emergency. But state planners will have to meet with officials from Boston and Cambridge to determine whether they are comfortable with the space available for emergency vehicles, he said.

The massive overhaul of the 102-year-old Longfellow Bridge is long overdue but has been postponed by interim repairs done since the August 2007 bridge collapse in Minnesota heightened concerns about rusted spans nationwide.

STEPHANIE EBBERT
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"The massive overhaul of the 102-year-old Longfellow Bridge is long overdue but has been postponed by interim repairs done since the August 2007 bridge collapse in Minnesota heightened concerns about rusted spans nationwide."

Methinks Stephanie could use a refresher course in grammar: the interim repairs postponed the overhaul??? I'm not sure how a repair can make these kinds of decisions. Also, she managed to squeeze 4 topics into this one sentence. Lastly, I don?t understand why the collapse of one bridge would be a reason to postpone overhauling another bridge that is truly in need of repair?seems a little counterintuitive.

Anyhow, enough of the pedantic analysis: this beautiful and iconic bridge is in such need of TLC. I can picture the mayhem that shutting down the Cambridge bound lanes would do to this end of Storrow, but if it means the ?old girl? gets her make-over completed a year sooner, then I say ?go for it??just like ripping off a band-aid.
 
Why couldn't they divide the current two Boston-bound lanes into one Boston-bound and one Cambridge-bound lane?

ledjes: What the Globe article is saying is that the Minnesota bridge collapse forced the state into making interim emergency repairs quickly, delaying the previously planned long-term rehabilitation project.
 
My prediction is that you won't want to drive past the Science Museum while this is going on unless you enjoy car trips that feel like a long, slow death.
 
The article was very poorly written about how the detour and construction will be done. The plan is to work on half of the bridge at one time. A temporary T track will be built over the inside lane of the open side of the bridge. There will only be one eastbound (14' 3") lane of traffic on the bridge during construction.
 
Fucking finally.

Wicked Local Cambridge - June 21, 2010
State announces first phase of $260M Longfellow Bridge rehab project

By Staff reports
Wicked Local Cambridge
Posted Jun 21, 2010 @ 02:24 PM
Last update Jun 21, 2010 @ 09:47 PM

Cambridge ? The historic Longfellow Bridge may be the greatest ?symbol of neglect? under the state?s previous administrations, according to Gov. Deval Patrick.

On Monday, Patrick announced that any disregard for the Charles River structure is taking a turn for the better, specifically with a $260 million rehabilitation project.

The project, announced at a press conference on the Cambridge side of the bridge, will begin this year with a $20 million early-action contract to include preparatory work, with the full reconstruction expected to begin in fall 2011.

Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Ian Bowles said the beginning phases of the project would have taken six years, but were minimized to six months because of Patrick?s work. ?The governor didn?t want to spend time getting ready to get ready,? said Bowles.

The project is funded by Patrick?s eight-year, $3 billion Accelerated Bridge Program to repair structurally deficient and obsolete bridges across the commonwealth.

Patrick said the project will help boost the area?s economy. ?I?m proud to be a part of a team that is investing in the future of the commonwealth,? said Patrick. ?The program will create jobs right now, as well as jobs in the future.?

Work on the Longfellow Bridge is the largest of several investments totaling more than $300 million in rebuilding the bridges along the Charles River Basin, including the BU Bridge, Craigie Drawbridge, and the Western Avenue, River Street and Anderson Memorial bridges.

The initial work beginning this month on the Longfellow Bridge includes accessibility upgrades to sidewalks ? providing pedestrian access for the first time since the 1950s ? along with steel arch cleaning and priming; masonry cleaning and repairs; pump station upgrades; and temporary utility relocation.

MassDOT has gathered a task force of stakeholders in order to discuss the final design of the roadway that will best accommodate all users.

According to a press release, since Patrick?s filing of legislation to create the Accelerated Bridge Program in May 2008, the number of structurally deficient bridges has dropped from 543 to 494, a decline of more than 9 percent of bridges eligible for the program.

Other government officials attended the ceremony, including state Rep. Alice Wolf and Congressman Mike Capuano, D-8th, who said Patrick?s work is worth recognizing because the plan is finally being processed. ?The last governor made the plans, but didn?t do anything,? he said.

Jennifer Brown contributed to this report.
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?symbol of neglect? under the state?s previous administrations, according to Gov. Deval Patrick
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Do Deval and Obama just copy everything off of each other? Even blaming other administrations? Just shut your face and do it, stop crying.
 
I hope they are planning to keep a sidewalk open on at least one side during all of this work? Though it probably won't be much fun dodging bicycles if you want to walk on it.
 
I'd love to see them completely redo the roadway, with full bike lanes on either lane as well as nice, wide sidewalks. Perhaps do away with a lane of traffic?
 
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