Manhole cover is dislodged on I-93

A manhole cover became dislodged during morning rush hour on Interstate 93 in Milton yesterday and got stuck underneath a bus, forcing the closure of a lane on the Southeast Expressway for three hours.

The incident came as state highway officials continued to investigate what caused a storm grate to break loose and crash through a car's windshield Friday on Route 128 in Westwood, critically injuring the driver. Officials blamed yesterday's manhole cover incident on heavy rains that fell during the weekend and said it is unrelated to the earlier accident.

"It's apples and oranges," said John Lamontagne, a spokesman for MassHighway. "This is not an uncommon situation when there's a large volume of storm water. It's a maintenance issue MassHighway deals with on a regular basis."

Water pressure apparently pried the cover from its frame, he said. Highway workers planned to clean out the drain last night and repave the area today.

The bus driver realized he had struck an object in the road about 7:30 a.m. but continued his southbound route to a Logan Express terminal in Braintree, State Police said. When he arrived, he noticed the manhole cover was lodged under the bus and notified State Police, who blocked off a section of the highway to traffic. Highway workers welded a replacement cover to the manhole and reopened the lane to traffic about 10:20 a.m.

There were no reported injuries, and the slightly damaged bus was soon back in operation, State Police said.

Meanwhile, crews continued to inspect highway storm grates across the state after Friday's accident, which left Pawel Swierczynski, 39, of North Easton, in critical condition.

Highway workers have replaced 50 grates that showed minor cracking or rattling since the accident, most of them in Greater Boston, said Luisa Paiewonsky, commissioner of MassHighway. She said the grates were safe but were replaced as a precaution. Crews continued to inspect other grates and manhole covers on high-volume roads, and engineers planned to survey the accident scene again last night in an effort to determine the cause of the accident.

On Friday, a tractor-trailer apparently dislodged the 250-pound cast-iron grate, which had been welded shut shortly before the accident, after drivers reported several loose grates in the area.

Jennifer Hilbert, 40, of Arlington, was driving north on Route 128 in Westwood Thursday at noon when a loose grate crashed into the front of her vehicle. She was unharmed, but said she was stunned that aggressive action was not taken to secure the grates.

"This has happened before and nothing was done about it?" she asked. "It's just appalling."

State Police confirmed an incident occurred at that location and time, but Lamontagne said highway officials were not notified of that specific incident.

Storm grates, also called catch basins, are located along breakdown lanes, where traffic may be diverted during construction.

Swierczynski, a married father of two, is being treated at Brigham and Women's Hospital. At the family's request, his condition was not listed yesterday.

In a statement Sunday, his wife, Beata Swierczynski, thanked well-wishers for their "outpouring of support."

"This sudden and tragic situation is overwhelming for my family. My children miss their Daddy terribly and wonder, like I do, when our husband and father will be coming home. The doctors tell me it will take time, and that I must be patient."