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AL
MacPHAIL -MASTER BUILDER
by
Imelda and Francis Murphy
Between
Cambridge and Boston, Al MacPhail is overseeing the construction
of a monumental cable-stayed bridge. As Resident Engineer, he is
in charge of over one hundred iron workers, truck drivers, and crane
operators as well as nine engineers.
Those
in the know refer to the structure as "Al's" bridge.
Two
towers in the shape of inverted "Ys" from which a symmetrical
array of cables splay forth to hold up ten travel lanes over the
Charles River. The distinctive design of the bridge-and its prominence-will
make it the architectural signature piece for Boston in the 21st
century.
A Canadian
native, Al has worked in many parts of the world on huge projects
for Bechtel and other contractors. Now a US resident, Al and his
wife Virginia, still have close ties with New Brunswick, Canada
where their two sons reside.
At
62, Al sees himself as having one or two more big jobs left in him
after completing this project.
The
first tower was ceremonially completed in early July with a pyramid-shaped
cap, marking the bridge's half-way point. The towers evoke the Bunker
Hill Monument, an obelisk, commemorating a 1775 Revolunrary War
battle, the first major encounter between British soldiers and the
Amerivan colonists.
Al
is orchestrating the complex admixture of 40,000 cubic yards of
concrete and 7,000 tons of steel into its final form by it's expected
completion date in the summer of 2001, well ahead of schedule. His
responsibilities entail more than supervising all the heavy lifting
and pulling so evident to motorists slowly passing on the adjacent,
rusting, double -decked bridge.
A subcontractor
recently submitted an invoice well over his original estimate for
work done on the bridge, but after a meeting with Al, the sub left
with far less than he requested. Al held him to his original quote.
Mild
mannered, gracious to all, but nothing gets by Al's exacting scrutiny.
© Copyright
Francis and Imelda Murphy
All rights reserved
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