Tunnel contractor pokes through Virginia Capitol ceiling

By SARAH RANKIN
Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A contractor working on a $25 million tunnel that will connect Virginia’s Capitol to a nearby legislative office building “inadvertently” poked through the ceiling of a subterranean Capitol extension earlier this year, causing debris to fall into the visitors center cafe. That’s according to a spokeswoman for the state agency overseeing the project. She says the Capitol was briefly evacuated on March 14 while crews evaluated the damage. The cafe was closed at the time and no workers were inside. The underground area will be closed for the rest of the year while the tunnel and a roofing repair project are underway.