A tractor-trailer moving a piece of construction equipment from one end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel to the other wound up being too big for the tunnel Monday.
The load — an 11-ton vibrating hammer — struck the ceiling of the Thimble Tunnel and fell off the trailer at about 11 a.m. It tore a large gash in the ceiling of the tunnel and tied up traffic for some 17 hours.
The truck and its load were removed from the tunnel at about midnight. The driver was charged with a violation of the Virginia state code restricting the height of loads. No injuries were reported.