Midtown Tunnel News

Crews aboard two 25-foot Response Boat – Smalls, from Coast Guard Station Curtis Bay, Maryland, are to be seen here escorting the tugboats 'Honor' and 'Captain William Landry' near Sparrows Point, as they tow a section of the Midtown Tunnel that will connect Portsmouth with Norfolk, Virginia. The Coast Guard explains that the tunnel section is being towed down the Chesapeake Bay to the Portsmouth Marine Terminal, where it will await placement in the Elizabeth River this fall.

The Intracoastal Waterway is clear and officials have begun an inquiry they hope will explain how a huge piece of debris ended up in the channel. So far, no one has been able to identify the massive, whale-shaped bundle of wood pulled from the waterway. It is suspected of damaging the cruise ship Spirit of Nantucket recently, forcing its captain to ground the vessel to prevent it from sinking. The debris measures 40 feet in length and is 7 to 8 feet tall, and is about 13 feet wide. It appears to be fashioned mostly of solid timber and has the remnants of metal plates and spikes in it. Worms have left artistic channels on its surfaces, and other marine life appears to have made it a home.