Turnpike Chief Quotes Instructions

In this photo provided by the state of Massachusetts Governor's Office, Gov. Mitt Romney shows photos of ceiling bolts during a news conference Thursday, July 20, 2006, in Boston. Romney ordered the eastbound Ted Williams Tunnel shut down after two problem bolts were spotted during inspections following the deadly collapse of ceiling panels in a nearby stretch of the city's Big Dig highway system. (AP Photo/State of Massachusetts Governor's Office, Abby Brack) (Abby Brack - AP)

BOSTON -- An "owners manual" for the Big Dig connector tunnel where a ceiling panel collapsed and killed a passing motorist didn't stipulate that regular maintenance was needed for the assembly holding up the panel, Massachusetts' turnpike chief said Friday.

The document, a manual provided to the state Turnpike Authority by the contractors and project manager, gives no indication that the panel hangers ever need to be serviced, said Turnpike Chairman Matthew Amorello.

"Under the manual you wouldn't even have to look at these things," he said. "There's no maintenance requirement for those components."

Turnpike officials had nonetheless planned visual inspections of the hanger assemblies during an inspection of the Interstate 90 connector tunnel scheduled for August, Amorello said.

The tunnels throughout Boston's Big Dig highway system have been heavily scrutinized since a motorist was killed last week by 12 tons of falling concrete ceiling panels.

Inspectors discovered more than 1,100 suspect bolts in the ceilings of that tunnel and nearby tunnel ramps.

Maintenance and inspections are different issues, said Andy Paven, spokesman for project manager Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff.

"While not having the manual in front of me, there is a fundamental difference between requiring maintenance and requiring inspection," said Paven.

In the wake of the July 10 accident, the Turnpike Authority plans detailed annual inspections of all the ceiling hanger systems in all the tunnels, including "pull tests" of a random sampling of bolts, Amorello said.

"We are doing everything we can to assure the public that this will never happen again," said Amorello, who again said he won't resign as chairman, despite efforts by Gov. Mitt Romney to oust him.

The Ted Williams Tunnel, a major highway tunnel that carries traffic under Boston Harbor to the airport, reopened to buses Friday morning, a day after the governor ordered it shut down to fix two slipping bolts in a heavy ceiling panel.

State Attorney General Tom Reilly has launched a criminal investigation into the collapse and is considering whether involuntary manslaughter charges are warranted. His inspectors are focusing on how the concrete panels were designed, whether they were secured properly for their weight and if they were tested properly.

The $14.6 billion Big Dig buried the old elevated Central Artery under Boston. Although it's been considered an engineering marvel, the most expensive highway project in U.S. history also has also been plagued by leaks, falling debris, cost overruns, delays and problems linked to faulty construction.