Ahead of the upcoming full closure of Boston's Sumner Tunnel, transportation officials and local leaders held a news conference on Wednesday morning, urging people to "ditch the drive" and utilize public transportation during the two-month shutdown.
The Sumner Tunnel — an important artery that connects East Boston to the North End via Route 1A South — is scheduled to be fully closed beginning at 12:01 a.m. July 5, until Aug. 31.
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The full closure comes amid a restoration project on the tunnel — a piece of infrastructure that dates back to the 1930s. Work includes improvements to the tunnel ceiling, road, walls, lighting and other changes that MassDOT says will boost safety and climate resiliency.
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"We really want to thank all our partners and their efforts for helping us create mitigation options while this work is ongoing and our residents and our travelers and their willingness to explore alternation travel options over the next two months," MassDOT Secretary and CEO Gina Fiandaca said during Wednesday's news conference.
Transportation officials are preparing for the summer closure by planning to offer free rides on the Blue Line, cutting tolls on alternative routes and other accommodations meant to ease travel headaches in the area.
Commuters can also expect reduced commuter line rates from the North Shore, free rides on the East Boston ferry, a new ferry to and from Lynn that will have reduced fairs during the closure and reduced rates on the Logan Express.
"We all recognize the work is critical to the longevity of the tunnel and safety of the infrastructure," MBTA General manager Phillip Eng said. "The T is ready to step up and move the public, essential workers, travelers and transit dependent riders during the Sumner Tunnel shutdown."
Eng said that work along the Blue Line was prioritized during the springtime, which addressed speed restrictions and resulted in faster commutes
Complete details about detours during the closure can be found here.
Alternative methods of travel, including trains, ferries and buses, can be found here.
Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver said the project represents five years of engineering and planning, saying that his team is ready.
"This is by far the most impactful project we have undertaken in some time," Gulliver said. "The impacts will be evident and immediate around the project area. Starting next Wednesday, drivers coming to the region should expect severe congestion especially around the connecting roadways to the Sumner tunnel and in particular the detour routes that are over the Tobin and through the Ted Williams."
Crews will be working around the clock during the closure, Gulliver said, with 200 personnel on site during any given day.
Transportation officials urged people using Logan Airport to allow for an extra two hours of travel time on each side of their trip.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu also spoke Wednesday, explaining that while the project represented a major disruption for people in East Boston and North Shore, it's "the only way to get us to where we deserve to be in terms of updated modernized infrastructure."
She thanked the state for its work on the project and finding alternatives for local commuters, while repeating pleas for people to utilize public transportation.
"The closure of the Sumner Tunnel will be a significant disruption for our residents in East Boston and North Shore," Mayor Wu said. ":At the city we are working in close collaboration with our partners at the state level to mitigate impacts and ensure residents can get where they need to go as efficiently and reliably as possible."
A top priority, she said, was ensuring that the public has access to emergency services during the closure. She said that Boston EMS has been preparing since the winter.
"It’s going to be two months of some pain, but this will help us in the next 10, 15, 20 years," Revere Mayor Patrick Keefe said.
The Sumner will also experience weekend closures later this year, and another full closure next summer.
