Dive Brief:

• There are tiny cracks in concrete cast in a new tunnel being built between Norfolk and Portsmouth, Va., under the Elizabeth River.
• An investigation by a TV station turned up state Department of Transportation emails about problems in the Midtown Tunnel project, which began in 2011 to create a second tunnel to join one opened in 1962.
• The tunnel also has a problem with some construction joints leaking, an issue that will be fixed with repairs and a waterproof membrane, according to Elizabeth River Crossings (ERC), a joint venture between Skanska Infrastructure Development and Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA), which is building and will operate the toll tunnel in a public-private partnership.

Dive Insight:

A tunnel presents a special case for public risk perception that a conventional highway construction project does not. ERC says the concrete has hairline cracks, but they will be repaired. The state DOT said it expects nothing less than ERC's promise that all repairs will be done on time and will not raise the state's costs.