Governor Mitt Romney said yesterday he hopes to reopen two major Big Dig tunnel ramps by Labor Day, potentially cutting commuting backups by nearly half just as traffic picks up with the start of the school year.
Romney also announced that both lanes of the eastbound Ted Williams Tunnel could open within days. The westbound tunnel has remained open, but only as far as the South Boston exit, where all traffic must detour onto surface roads.
Romney's remarks represented the first rough indication in weeks of when the initial round of Big Dig fixes might be completed. One of the ramps under repair allows South Boston traffic to enter the Ted Williams Tunnel eastbound toward Logan International Airport, while the other links westbound tunnel traffic leaving Logan to Interstate 93 north and south.
In the days just after July 10, when Milena Del Valle was killed as concrete ceiling panels collapsed in the Interstate 90 connector tunnel, the Romney administration retreated from its initial repair timeline when new and unanticipated problems surfaced throughout the I-90 tunnel system.
He warned yesterday that construction complications could still slow work and that the extensive fixes required in the I-90 connector, linking the Ted Williams Tunnel and the Massachusetts Turnpike, would take ``a good deal of time . . . months, not days or weeks."
``Clearly, it's our hope that both Ramp A and Ramp D are open by Labor Day," he said, using engineers' designations for the two ramps. ``They would have a very positive impact on traffic flow."
At a State House press conference, Romney outlined a new temporary support system for three massive jet fans hanging over the South Boston onramp that state engineers say may be unstable.
And Romney's long-running criticism of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority continued, as he announced that an independent five-member panel would look for areas where his administration can better perform tasks now delegated to the authority.
Labor Day is shaping up to be a crucial date in the state's effort to recover and remedy the Big Dig tragedy. ``We're lucky school is out, and people are on summer vacation," Romney said. ``With the traffic demands lower than they would be in the fall and winter . . . the impact [of Big Dig closings] is not as bad as I had frankly feared initially."
With traffic expected to return to full density in September, completion of work on the two ramps -- which state studies show would reduce traffic congestion and delays by 40 percent -- is considered crucial. ``No question, the sooner the better," the governor said.
The work to shore up the suspension system for the drop ceiling in the South Boston onramp (Ramp A) has been complicated by the presence of rebar, metal reinforcement bars embedded in the concrete roof.
Rebar in the Ramp A ceiling corners has prevented workers from drilling holes to insert the bolts that will shore up epoxy-secured bolts, which are similar to the ones suspected of failing and causing Del Valle's death. But engineers have determined that the problem can be temporarily solved by simply removing 10 concrete ceiling panels, Romney said.
State engineers have also improvised a temporary fix to shore up the massive ceiling jet fans in Ramp A, which are also secured by the epoxy-and-bolt system. Engineers plan to use steel cables that will be secured to ceiling fixtures anchored by expansion bolts that are embedded in concrete and do not require epoxy.
Romney likened the combination of the new and old fan fixtures to a ``belt and suspenders." He said the presence of rebar may slow this effort and that a more permanent fix will be engineered later.
The other focus of repair activity is the eastbound Ted Williams Tunnel, where 12 new ceiling anchor bolts have been installed. Seven of them have passed strength tests. If the five others pass scheduled tests, workers will connect the unstable ceiling panels to the new bolts.
``When that is completed, we'll be able to open both lanes again inside the Ted Williams eastbound," said Romney. ``That should probably be resolved in a matter of days."
However, the tunnel opening will have marginal impact on traffic until the opening of Ramp A, because there is no access to the eastbound tunnel for passenger cars. One lane in the tunnel is open for Silver Line and Logan Express buses and for emergency vehicles.
Romney said local trucking companies have been hurt by the Ted Williams Tunnel closing, because many of their trucks must detour through the North Shore to reach certain destinations.
However, Romney said commuters have developed effective detour routes around Big Dig closures in such numbers that traffic backups have noticeably decreased.
But every optimistic statement yesterday was tempered with caution.
``I continue to hope for a lot of things, but I'm not going to predict at this stage," Romney said. ``If we hit a lot of rebar -- why, we could be back at the drawing board."
Raja Mishra can be reached at rmishra@globe.com. 
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
