"This doesn't have anything to do with maintenance of the system -- this is a break in the system, something that is not predictable," Hansen said, adding that the pump system has a weekly maintenance schedule.
At the privately operated Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, tunnel pumps also have alarms that sound in the control room, said Robert Johnson, maintenance director.
The pump system, however, is manually checked multiple times a day.
"We put our hands on the pumps usually three times every eight hours to see if it's running hot, to see if no current is going through," Johnson said. "We like to have a hands-on rapport with our equipment and not rely on our sensors to take care of things."
Fraim said the incident was reminiscent of Hurricane Isabel in September 2003, when the Midtown Tunnel flooded because of malfunctioning floodgates.
"Had this occurred during an evacuation caused by an impending hurricane or major storm, I shudder to think of the consequences," Fraim said.
Some motorists stuck in the traffic had the same worries.
"This really got me scared," said Chris Rooks, whose 20-minute commute from Norfolk to Fort Monroe in Hampton took three hours Thursday morning.
"This does have me concerned especially because it's a hurricane escape route," he said. "People could drown or get killed."
Rooks toughed out the commute although several colleagues never made it in. "To have just two routes across the water is crazy," he said.
Pilot writers Matthew Bowers, Cindy Clayton, Lauren King and Patrick Wilson contributed to this report.
Debbie Messina, (757) 446-2588, debbie.messina@pilotonline.com
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