The clock is ticking towards the Sumner Tunnel shutdown that is expected to last nearly two months.
Starting on Wednesday, the 88-year-old tunnel connecting East Boston to Downtown will close for repairs and the area’s already tough traffic is expected to get much worse.
The shutdown will begin on July 5 and last through Aug. 31. as crews work on the tunnel’s ceiling, pavement and lighting. On top of impacting the areas immediately around the tunnel, several other spots around the city can expect heavier traffic, as well.
“A lot of people are thinking that the congestion is going to only be outbound from East Boston, but as that grows, it will start impacting other roadways,” said MassDOT Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver. “The next two weeks are going to be critical for roadway impacts.”
Speaking with 7NEWS, Gulliver said the worst back ups could be in two spots in particular.
“The two biggest areas that we expect that you’re going to see some heavy congestion, if you’re coming from the North Shore, is going to be both the Tobin Bridge and the Ted Williams Tunnel,” he said. “Avoid Ted Williams Tunnel – you may be better off.”
Gulliver also showed 7NEWS the room where highway officials will be monitoring backups, trying to take steps to make everyone’s drive shorter.
“We’re sitting here in the commander center – part of what the goal of this place is to make sure that we have eyes on those intersections and key areas coming from Logan at all times and if we need to make real-time changes, we have decision-makers in the room that can redeploy resources to pull traffic or maybe change the way traffic is flowing.”
The easiest way to beat the traffic – don’t drive, take the T instead.
“We’re providing free Blue Line, we’re providing discounted Commuter Rail from the North Shore, we have expanded ferry service – also deeply discounted it, along with free parking at many of those facilities.” Gulliver explained. “We’ve expanded and made free and discounted a number of bus services both from Chelsea and to and from Logan.”
But if you have to get behind the wheel, be ready for big delays.
“Really plan your commute so that you’re off-peak, ideally,” Gulliver said. “The best thing you can do is to leave yourself a lot of extra time. If you need to catch a flight, leave yourself an extra two hours to get to the airport just in case.”
Travelers can access dozens of cameras all over Massachusetts to see what is happening on highways in real time.
You can access those cameras here to see if it’s a good time to head out.
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