BOSTON (AP) – The state is close to reopening one lane of traffic in the tunnel linking Interstate 90 to Logan Airport, using a series of towers to prop up ceiling panels as permanent repairs continue, Gov. Mitt Romney said Thursday.

The tunnel is among those closed since falling ceiling panels killed a motorist last month.

Work to install the 118 support towers was scheduled to wrap up around midnight on Thursday with the goal of opening the tunnel as soon as possible after that, once state and federal inspectors sign off on the work, according to Romney. That could be as soon as this weekend, he said.

The state had hoped to be able to ease traffic congestion by Labor Day, when the end of summer vacation season and an influx of college students typically means more cars on the road.

“We moved about a week ago to see if we couldn’t put in place a temporary shoring system to allow us to open a lane in the tunnel and also allow us to continue work night and day,” Romney told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Romney said the shoring towers will restore a critical link to the airport from the west while repairs are carried out on a permanent basis.

Romney said the decision was made to use the shoring towers because as inspections have found new problems that needed to be permanently addressed, any prospect of re-opening the underground roadway in a timely fashion was fading. He has said it could take months to complete all the repairs.

“The problems for a permanent repair keep stacking up,” Romney said. “One revelation after another puts us deeper and deeper in the repair process.”

The connector tunnel and several ramps have remained closed after four three-ton concrete ceiling panels in the connector tunnel fell and crushed a car on July 10, killing 39-year-old Milena Del Valle.

Under the plan, the reopened lane will go as far as Exit 25, where cars will use local streets and then get on the already-reopened Ramp A to access the Ted Williams Tunnel.

If state and federal inspectors sign off on the work quickly the single lane of traffic could be opened as soon as this weekend, Romney said. If more work is needed, the opening could be pushed back. He planned a news conference Friday to update progress.

Romney said once the repairs are completed on one side of the tunnels the towers will be switched to the other lane to keep traffic flowing while repairs are completed.

“We hope to employ this method to open other tunnels,” he said.

State transportation officials also plan to add more commuter trains and boats and urge commuters to car pool to ease traffic delays.

The announcement comes after Milena Del Valle’s husband Angel and daughter Raquel Ibarra Mora filed a wrongful death lawsuit this week against the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and nine companies associated with design and construction of the project.

Also this week Big Dig officials approved $15 million for repair work in the wake of the ceiling panel collapse but warned the final price tag could climb higher if more trouble spots are discovered.

Turnpike Chairman John Cogliano said the Turnpike would try to recoup the money from contractors and others that worked on the project.

The Big Dig buried the old elevated Central Artery with a series of tunnels, ramps and bridges. The most expensive highway project in U.S. history also has also been plagued by leaks, falling debris, delays and other problems linked to faulty construction.

The initial price tag was $2.6 billion and it was supposed to be completed in seven years. Instead, it took nearly 15 years and repeated cost overruns drove up the price to $14.6 billion.