BOSTON (AP) – Safety repairs have been completed near a Big Dig tunnel section where a motorist was killed by falling ceiling panels, and the segment will reopen once federal authorities give the OK, Gov. Mitt Romney said Friday.

Romney didn’t estimate how long federal authorities will need to finish their review, which follows state inspections. But he said federal officials were aware of the urgency of easing traffic congestion that would be partially relieved once the so-called “Ramp A” is reopened, providing a key eastbound link to Logan International Airport via Interstate 90 and the Ted Williams Tunnel.

However, the Republican governor told a news conference he was open to making any additional changes that the Federal Highway Administration and U.S. Department of Transportation’s inspector general may recommend to ensure the tunnel is safe.

“If so, those will be made. If not, we’ll be ready to roll,” Romney said.

The Transportation Department said in a statement late Friday it had specific safety critera the state should meet before reopening the ramp and continued working with state officials and the inspector general to ensure they were met. Department spokeswoman Nancy Singer declined to elaborate.

If Ramp A is reopened, it would be the first measure of relief for motorists who have been denied a direct route to Logan since the July 10 accident that killed a Boston woman.

Romney said other closed tunnel sections could take months to inspect and reopen.

The ramp is a key segment among several Big Dig tunnels and ramps that have been closed to traffic since 12 tons of concrete ceiling panels fell onto 39-year-old Milena Del Valle, crushing her to death. The ramp enters the I-90 connector tunnel just up the road from the accident site.

Subsequent inspections led authorities to remove other suspect ceiling panels, and add cable supports to shore up giant ventilation fans suspended above the roadway on Ramp A.

Crews also erected concrete barriers to funnel traffic from the ramp and past the accident site, before being allowed to flow into the full width of the Ted Williams eastbound tunnel.

State transportation officials have finished examining the work, and inspection and repair-related paperwork have been turned over to federal authorities.

The inspector general flew to Boston on Friday, and Romney said he had spoken with Maria Cino, the acting U.S. Transportation secretary, who has sent a review team.

“They’ve not indicated a time frame” for the review, Romney said. But he said Cino was “very supportive” of the need for an expedited review.

Romney said he was “happy” to wait for federal officials to sign off on the work, even if it prolongs traffic problems.

“The U.S. Department of Transportation has identified and developed specific safety criteria that the Commonwealth should meet before reopening Ramp A of the Central Artery/Tunnel,” the Transportation Department’s statement said.

“The Department continues working with Massachusetts transportation officials and the Department’s Inspector General to ensure that each of these criteria is met so traffic may be safely restored in the area.”

For now, the eastbound Ted Williams Tunnel remains restricted to authorized-only vehicles, including public transit buses.

But recent tests of the tunnel’s safety have yielded positive findings, Romney said.

Authorities are investigating the bolt-and-epoxy system that failed to hold suspended ceiling panels in place where Del Valle was killed. Inspections have revealed slippage in dozens of other tunnel locations, and workers are reinforcing potentially weak connections.

Romney said the state expects within a couple weeks to hire an engineering firm specializing in reviewing construction failures to examine what led to the accident that killed Del Valle.

Ramp A represents only about 10 percent of the total area of the Big Dig tunnels and ramps that have been shut down since Del Valle’s death.

“But it has a disproportionate impact on transportation and access to the airport,” Romney said.

Reopening the ramp will benefit South Shore drivers heading to Boston as well as relieve congestion that has built in downtown Boston and on North Shore airport approaches as southern drivers have sought alternate routes.

Cargo-hauling companies have been hit especially hard by the Ted Williams Tunnel closure, Romney said, since alternate tunnels to Logan are too small for some larger trucks to fit through.