Here’s a traffic alert for you: There likely will be a little extra traffic on Route 291 outside the Boeing plant in Ridley Township today.

That will be all the TV news vans making their way to the sprawling helicopter facility.

Yesterday Boeing officials announced they had temporarily halted production on their key Chinook line of helicopters because of what they termed “possible manufacturing irregularities.” You can read Kathleen Carey’s story on the shutdown here.

Defects turned up in two choppers at the plant. Now the Department of Defense is bringing in their Defense Criminal Investigating Service to look into the matter to determine just what happened, if it was a problem in production or perhaps something a bit more sinister.

One union official at the plant told us it appeared wires had broken or been severed.

The company shut down production at the plant and sent several hundred workers whose livelihoods depend on the Chinook home. They likely will be back at work today.

They won’t be alone. A lot of people will be asking a lot of questions.