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By Travis Andersen and Eric Moskowitz Globe Staff
State highway workers moved quickly Thursday night to inspect light fixtures on the Tobin Bridge after one fell onto the highway earlier in the day. Officials assured motorists that the route used by thousands of commuters daily is safe for travel.
State official comments on light fixture falling on the Tobin Bridge
The light fixture, which weighs between 10 and 15 pounds and is about the size of a small television, fell about 15 feet from its bracket underneath the Tobin’s upper deck onto an approach ramp to Route 1 in Charlestown. It did not appear to have hit anything. A state trooper spotted the fixture on the road around noon Thursday, but it was not clear when it came down.“It is very lucky that it didn’t strike a vehicle when it fell,” said Frank DePaola, the state highway administrator .
The light fixtures are around 20 years old and were due to be inspected later this year, transportation officials said. DePaola said the likely cause was corrosion in the fixture’s support bracket.
There are as many as 20 such fixtures on the bridge, DePaola said, but no others appeared to be in danger of falling based on a visual inspection Thursday afternoon.
State highway workers began a physical inspection, which involved grabbing each light to see whether it was firmly attached, around 10 p.m. Thursday.
“Any defective lights will be removed immediately,” DePaola said, adding that replacement would cost about $1,000 per fixture.
He said the fixture’s connection to the overpass may have been weakened by high winds from the storm on Wednesday, and the corrosion on the bracket may have been exacerbated by the bridge’s proximity to saltwater.