Green Line service between North Station and Government Center resumed Saturday, two weeks after a deadly parking garage collapse sent tons of debris crashing down to the streets above the tunnels.
A portion of the Government Center parking garage collapsed on Saturday, March 26, killing 51-year-old Peter Monsini of South Easton and sending another person to the hospital.
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In the immediate aftermath of the collapse, roads were closed and Orange and Green Line service was replaced by shuttle buses while investigators determined the safety of the structure. When Orange Line service resumed several days later, those shuttle buses were discontinued and riders were pointed to the Orange Line.
Trains have been and will continue to bypass the Haymarket station on both lines until crews can finish making repairs on the standpipe system, which was damaged by the debris.
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MBTA officials said more than 100 tons of debris were removed from directly above the Green Line and structural engineers have been carefully assessing the tunnels to ensure their safety. Engineers will continue to monitor the tunnel in the immediate future.
Details of the parking garage collapse
Part of the Government Center garage came down after a concrete slab on the ninth floor collapsed. The demolition is all part of the $1.5 billion Bullfinch Redevelopment Project, construction firm John Moriarty & Associates said in a statement. The finished project is expected to include a parking garage surrounded by office and apartment buildings.
Boston Fire Commissioner Jack Dempsey told reporters that Monsini was completing demolition work in a construction vehicle that fell over the side of the garage when the structure collapsed around 5:40 p.m. Saturday.
The vehicle fell eight or nine stories with a large amount of debris. Monsini was found under a pile of rubble and pronounced dead at the scene by authorities, Dempsey said. A second person was taken to an area hospital after the accident.
The incident was Massachusetts' first fatal construction accident of the year.
Emergency crews called to same site 2 months earlier
NBC10 Boston investigators discovered a call for help to the same construction site months prior to the deadly collapse. Footage of the construction area from Jan. 14 shows a sizable fire rescue response.
According to the scanner audio from that night, firefighters were called for a "unsafe, unstable worksite involving a crane." First responders initially planned to stage a rescue operation on Surface Road at New Chardon street but later determined it would not be necessary.
Emergency crews responded after a water main break caused a leak at the site, according to a police report. The report said a fire department detail was afraid that a crane on the construction site might fall over due to the water leak.
"Officers observed water coming from the construction site onto New Chardon Street," the report states.
Boston Water and Sewer responded for the leak and all streets within a 300-foot radius of the construction site were closed to pedestrians and vehicles for safety reasons. The Boston Fire Department and Bay Crane eventually determined the crane to be stable. The report stated that the site would be closed and the crane monitored through the right until an engineer could inspect it. What that engineer found was not included in the report.
Investigation into parking garage collapse ongoing
A large-scale investigation into the collapse is now being conducted by Boston police, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden's Office and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Hayden said Monday his office isn't discarding the possibility of criminal charges.
"Whether some degree of negligence rise to criminality, that's what our investigation will be focused on," Hayden said.
OSHA will play the leading role in the investigation, but local, state and federal authorities will also be involved, the district attorney’s office said.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said the city will do "whatever it takes" to find out what happened.
