A Boston man was nearly hit by a large piece of falling debris at the Savin Hill MBTA station in Dorchester.
Tim Shannon of Dorchester says he's feeling fortunate after a metal panel beneath a concrete stair gave way Sunday night.
"I just happened to look up, you could hear a loud cracking noise," he said.
Shannon says it happened right above where he was standing.
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"It pretty much just dropped in front of me," he said. "It was about a -and-a-half-foot-long piece of concrete and metal, it appears to be the bottom of a step."
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The MBTA said Monday morning that the panels were inspected and some minor repairs were made.
They say their inspection shows the concrete steps are structurally sound and safe for use, and that no one was hurt and no service was disrupted.
"With the safety of customers and employees of paramount importance, regular maintenance is a central component of the MBTA's asset management program and includes inspections, preventative maintenance, and corrective maintenance of station infrastructure. The MBTA continues to invest billions of dollars on major infrastructure projects, including the Red Line Transformation program," the MBTA said in a statement. "After a record-breaking $1.92 billion spent in Fiscal Year 2021, the MBTA expects to exceed $2 billion in capital spending in Fiscal Year 2022. The MBTA has increased capital spending every year since 2015 to help make transit services and infrastructure more reliable."
Shannon says he's glad he didn't have his ear buds in and heard the crack.
"Had I not had these on and not been able to hear that, would I have gotten out of the way fast enough?" he wondered.
