Another piece of Big Dig reopens

Another section of the Big Dig highway complex under downtown Boston was reopened to traffic Saturday after completion of reinforcements ordered because of the ceiling panel collapse that killed one woman, State Police said.

The reopened "Ramp L" provides a direct connection from Interstate 93 north to Interstate 90 east toward Logan International Airport. An estimated 22,000 vehicles will use it each day, state transportation officials said.

On Jan. 14, the eastbound I-90 Connector tunnel where 39-year-old Milena Del Valle was killed was reopened to traffic.

Traffic is still excluded from part of that tunnel.

Del Valle was crushed by concrete ceiling panels that fell on the car in which she was a passenger. Her husband, the driver, survived.

The $14.6 billion Big Dig project is the most expensive highway project in U.S. history and had been plagued by cost overruns and leaks before the tunnel collapse.