BOSTON (WHDH) – Several vehicles were damaged Friday when concrete fell from the ceiling of the Prudential Tunnel in Boston, police said.
Troopers responded to I-90 West inside the tunnel, where the concrete fell into the left and middle travel lanes, according to the Massachusetts State Police.
Traffic on I-90 West was diverted while debris was removed from the tunnel, police said. Crews conducted emergency inspections throughout the area.
MassDOT said a section of non-structural concrete at an expansion joint below Huntington Avenue became dislodged and fell.
“A PORTION OF THE TUNNEL that ran under Huntington Ave., its an expansion joint for the tunnel that had a failure in it,” said MassDot Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver in a press conference. “This is due to freeze thaw action. Obviously, we’ve been in this stretch of weather over the last few weeks where it’s been very very cold. We just came out of a storm last weekend where we had some serious rain and ice. We believe that that ice infiltrated that particular joint.”
Surveillance video shows the chunks of concrete hitting the ground and impeding cars. The incident snarled traffic throughout the afternoon commute.
Former Boston Transportation Commissioner John Vitagliano said he was wondering how this incident was able to happen.
“In the effect of all the weather that we’ve had for the past week, some of that is understandable, but what I am absolutely concerned about though, is that why the affect of the weather on the status of the concrete was not picked up by a regular inspection,” Vitagliano said.
Further inspections are slated to take place Friday night and over the coming days, MassDOT said.
Officials say the debris has been cleared and nobody was hurt in the incident. Traffic is moving at a normal pace at this time.
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