BOSTON (WHDH) - Traffic trouble is ahead as the Sumner Tunnel is set to shut down for nearly two month’s beginning next week.
As the beginning of the shutdown nears, 7NEWS’ Polikseni Manxhari sat down with the man in charge of Massachusetts’ highways to see how the work ahead will impact drivers.
“It’s going to be tough and it will be tough through the remainder of the summer as well,” said Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver. “We really are hoping that people are going to really pay close attention to what the commute looks like — if they have a critical appointment — that they’re going to plan ahead and leave themselves a lot of extra time.”
The Sumner Tunnel shutdown will begin on Wednesday, July 5. The tunnel will then stay closed through Aug. 31.
Within the tunnel, crews will be rehabbing the ceiling, pavement and lighting.
“It’s one of the oldest vehicular tunnels in the United States,” Gulliver said. “We have to do this work and it’s extensive.”
The smart traveler, Gulliver said, will leave the car at home and take public transportation over the next two months.
Can the already troubled T handle the extra riders, though?
“We’ve worked very closely with them to make sure that the services that we’re providing are going to work, that they have the capacity,” Gulliver said. “We’re confident. We’ve been working with them really closely. They have a great plan in place.”
While the Blue Line will be free during the tunnel shutdown, Gulliver admitted no one knows yet who will pay for that change.
“We’re still working out those details, but we really feel that this is a critical component to making this project a success,” he said.
Hoping to keep the project speeding along, Mass DOT is offering big dollars to companies doing the repair work if they get it done on time.
“We’ve put very heavy incentives and disincentives into these contracts,” Gulliver said.
A contractor, he said, can earn up to $7 million by hitting their milestones.
“If they miss their milestones, they can be penalized up to $250,000 a day,” Gulliver said.
Gulliver said he is hoping for a smooth ride.
Once crews start working on the 88-year-old tunnel, however, they could uncover more serious issues.
“There may be something unexpected,” Gulliver said. “But, in general, we really don’t expect that they’re going to run into anything major that is going to slow them down and we are very confident in the plan and the ability to get this done by the end of August.”
Among its impacts, the Sumner shutdown is hitting at the height of summer tourism, meaning it is expected to make getting to Logan Airport taught.
Gulliver recommended travelers give themselves an extra two hours.
“One of the big benefits of doing it during these two months, it’s the lowest traffic volume of the year,” Gulliver said. “It will be manageable but it will be difficult.”
Travelers can access dozens of cameras all over Massachusetts to see what is happening on highways in real time.
You can access those cameras through the link here to see if it’s a good time to head out.
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