Threat Briefly Closes Tunnels in Baltimore

Authorities in Baltimore briefly closed a major traffic tunnel under the harbor today and restricted access to another tunnel after authorities said they had received a terrorist threat.

Maryland Transit Police Chief Gary McLhinney told reporters at a televised news conference in Baltimore this afternoon that he could not discuss the nature of the threat, but that a search of the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel had yielded nothing out of the ordinary.

He said local, state and federal authorities had been involved.

The Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, which carries Interstate 895 under the water, was closed about 11:40 a.m. local time and was reopened at about 1:15 p.m. Authorities had also restricted traffic at the Fort McHenry Tunnel, a section of Interstate 95, to one lane in each direction.

While Mr. McLhinney would not discuss the threat, The Associated Press reported that it was a threat to detonate explosives inside the tubes.