Lane closures announced for Helsinginkatu tunnel in Turku due to ceiling risk

One lane heading towards Turku on the Helsinginkatu tunnel will be closed, in addition to the lane that was shut down on Saturday, which will remain closed. One lane towards the Turku city center will remain open. According to planning engineer Mika Laine, a concrete piece has been found on the ceiling above the closed lane, posing a risk of falling.

In conjunction with the lane closure, a speed limit of 40 km/h will be implemented in the area. The Turku traffic center has indicated that the lanes will remain closed indefinitely.

Helsinginkatu is a significant artery at the start of the Turku-Helsinki motorway, situated between Kupittaa and Itäharju in Turku. Typically, closures of lanes on Helsinginkatu lead to traffic congestion in the Turku city center and an increase in detours.

One lane in the tunnel was closed early Saturday morning after concrete pieces measuring approximately 20-30 centimeters fell from the ceiling. The emergency services closed the lane, but before that, several vehicles sustained damage after driving over the debris.

Mika Laine informed Yle on Monday that assessing the damage may take up to a couple of weeks. He noted that a thorough inspection of the entire tunnel ceiling must be conducted for potential damage. The cause of the damage remains unknown.