Section of Ceiling Tumbles in Tunnel

Debris strikes car; one dead

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff  |  July 11, 2006

A portion of the ceiling in the tunnel connecting Interstate 93 north to the Ted Williams Tunnel collapsed last night, cascading debris onto a passing car and killing a female passenger, authorities said this morning.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene but her husband managed to crawl out of the crumpled car, said state officials, who would not release their names. The man was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital.

The ceiling collapsed at about 11 p.m. and immediately led to the shutdown of the tunnel by State Police as Boston firefighters worked to remove the woman from the vehicle, officials said.

The tunnel system is part of the Big Dig construction project overseen by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.

State Police said the tunnel was shut down to give engineers time to study the extent of the damage to the ceiling and to the roadway. On its website, the Turnpike Authority said that the I-90 east connector tunnel to the Ted Williams Tunnel is closed and that all traffic was being diverted at Exit 24.

The Ted Williams Tunnel eastbound and the eastbound section of I-90 that is east of I-93 will likely be closed for this morning's commute, said Mariellen Burns, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority. She said the harbor tunnel westbound, I-90 west, and I-93 will be open.

The episode was the latest in a series of problems for tunnels involved in the $14 billion Big Dig project.

In April 2005, one day after federal officials declared the Big Dig's tunnels safe, rocks and other debris rained down from an overhead vent in the I-93 southbound tunnel in downtown Boston and damaged at least five vehicles, including an ambulance transporting a patient.

The debris, which witnesses described as ranging from pebbles to rocks smaller than a golf ball, fell near the Purchase Street exit.

It was not clear this morning whether the latest ceiling collapse was related to water leaks that have plagued the tunnels.

In March 2005, Big Dig officials launched a survey of the roadway after a chunk of the material fell onto the I-93 breakdown lane. They reported then that water leaks in the Big Dig had damaged fireproofing material in at least 40 areas along the tunnel's ceiling. Most of the damaged areas, which typically measure about 2 square feet, were located near where the tunnel walls meet the roof.

Big Dig officials stressed then that the tunnel was safe.

In May, prosecutors charged six current and former employees of a concrete supplier with fraud for allegedly concealing that some concrete delivered to the Big Dig was not freshly mixed. State and federal officials said that long-term maintenance, not immediate safety, was the likely impact.

John R. Ellement can be reached at ellement@globe.com.