BOSTON -- Work crews have plugged the leaks along the Fort Point Channel that have delayed work on the Central Artery project.

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NewsCenter 5's Jack Harper reports that the leaks, which caused four months of delays are finally under control, and work can begin again on the crucial connection between Interstate 90 and Interstate 93.

The leaks were causing water to come into tunnels at 30,000 gallons a minute, filling the floor of a tunnel with 18-20 feet of water.

"Even though we had a sand barrier there, it's just Mother Nature," Big Dig spokesman Sean O'Neill said. "You're trying to fight the Atlantic Ocean, and it crept underneath through small, small areas, and it came in behind us."

Officials said that the water did no damage to the underground structures.

"All we had was this rock concrete," Big Dig supervisor Mike Bertoulin said. "All we're going to do here is we'll shovel this junk out and then we'll power wash it to get all the salt chlorides out of here, and that will take two days."

The final step will be building a concrete-like dam in the soil under the tunnel to stop the leak for good.

"We've effectively, we believe, stopped the flow, and now we're going back to one more location, tightening up, as we call it, and then later this week, Thursday afternoon or Friday, we're going to pump the water down," Bertoulin said.

The last 180 feet of tunnel can then be built, which workers say is the most intricate part of the project.

There have been rumors that it the leaks could cost $1 billion to fix, but Big Dig official said that they can accomplish it within the current budget. The four-month delay may also be reduced during the course of the project.