Panels Replaced In Callahan Tunnel

Workers have removed more than 100 metal wall panels from the Callahan Tunnel after one fell onto the road last week.

    Frank DePaola, the state Transportation Department's highway administrator, said 117 panels were removed overnight over concerns that their fasteners had become corroded.

    The tunnel reopened at about 5 a.m. Monday after workers conducted ``pull tests'' on 2,800 panels.

    No one was hurt and no cars were damaged when a 4-foot-by-9-foot panel weighing about 100 pounds fell at about 6 p.m. Friday.

    Officials say it fell because the metal fasteners had corroded.

    The panels in the adjacent Sumner Tunnel will be checked next weekend.

    The Callahan was built in the early 1950s, but the wall panels were installed about 20 years ago. It is scheduled for an overhaul in 2014.  (Associated Press)