Boston's 14-year, $14.6 billion Central Artery/Tunnel project has taken a major step toward completion with the Jan. 18 opening of the new Fort Point Channel crossing, a nine-lane tunnel beneath the channel and South Boston that connects the Massachusetts Turnpike directly to the Ted Williams Tunnel.
The $6.5 billion tunnel extends the Turnpike 3 1/2 miles to the east, linking up with the Ted Williams Tunnel to provide a quick, direct path to Logan Airport and Route 1A. An interchange in South Boston also provides access to Congress Street and the waterfront area.
The Ted Williams Tunnel, which has been largely restricted to commercial traffic since its completion in 1995, is now open to general traffic at all times.
The new highway allows drivers on the Turnpike to speed straight to Logan without negotiating the chronically clogged Central Artery. But Turnpike travelers aren't the only ones who will benefit; the redistribution of traffic is expected to ease current delays on the Artery, as well as in the Sumner and Callahan tunnels. Project officials estimate a shift in daily traffic of about 25,000 vehicles from the Central Artery to the Williams Tunnel.
Drivers approaching the city from the south on northbound I-93 can access the Turnpike extension using the new Exit 20 ramp, located just past the Massachusetts Ave./Roxbury exit (See map). The Callahan Tunnel exit on the northbound Central Artery has been permanently closed, meaning South Shore drivers must use the Turnpike and Williams Tunnel to access Logan.
When returning to I-93 South from Logan, however, drivers should continue using the Sumner Tunnel. A ramp that will eventually connect the westbound Turnpike to I-93 South is still under construction.
Drivers coming from the north on I-93 should also continue using the traditional route, the Callahan Tunnel, to get to the airport. There will be no direct connection between I-93 South and the eastbound Turnpike.
The Callahan Tunnel is still accessible via surface streets: Take Exit 22 onto Atlantic Avenue. After taking a left on Clinton Street and going underneath the Central Artery, make a right on North Street to reach the Callahan.
Drivers who used to use the old Callahan exit on the northbound Artery to access Government Center should begin using Exit 22, which has been relabeled "Atlantic Ave./Government Center."
The opening of the Turnpike extension represents the beginning of the end of the Central Artery/Tunnel project, the first in a series of three final milestones that will mark the full opening of Boston's underground highway system. The second milestone, the opening of the northbound lanes of the underground Central Artery and the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge, is scheduled for March. The final milestone -- the opening of the southbound lanes of the Artery -- is still a year off.
The Mass. Pike extension gives drivers new options for getting to and from Logan Airport and Route 1A. Here's a look at the changes:
Getting to Logan Airport and Route 1A
From the West: Simply hop on the Massachusetts Turnpike East and drive straight ahead. The new Turnpike extension will whisk you into the Ted Williams Tunnel and on to the airport.
From the North: The Callahan Tunnel is still your route to Logan and will remain so. No direct connection will be built from I-93 South to the Turnpike extension and Ted Williams Tunnel.
From the South: A new Exit 20 ramp now connects I-93 North to the eastbound Turnpike and Ted Williams Tunnel. Exit 24 to the Callahan Tunnel has been permanently closed.
Leaving Logan Airport and Route 1A
Heading West: Use the Ted Williams Tunnel. It will bring you directly to the westbound Massachusetts Turnpike.
Heading North: For now, your trip home from the airport remains the same. Take the Sumner Tunnel to I-93 North. When the northbound lanes of the new underground Central Artery open in March, a ramp will connect the westbound Turnpike extension to the I-93 North tunnel. When this happens, you will have the option of using the Williams Tunnel and Turnpike extension to reach I-93.
Heading South: You must continue using the Sumner Tunnel to get to I-93 South. The ramp that eventually will connect the westbound Turnpike extension to I-93 South is still under construction.
More coverage:
New tunnel an engineering feat
Big Dig workers had to thread nine lanes of tunnel beneath the Fort Point Channel and South Station rail yard and above the Red Line subway.
Tunnel opening long delayed
A massive leak inside one of the channel tubes in 2001 cost millions of dollars and delayed the project's completion for months.
Ventilation buildings prove controversial
Two 18-story concrete structures built to ventilate the new channel tunnel have prompted complaints from some South Boston residents.
Big Dig changes affect traffic across the city
By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff, 1/26/2003
During the past week, our eyes have been firmly focused on the new I-90 connector linking the Mass. Pike to South Boston and Logan International Airport. It has been an amazing development, which we trust you're not already tired of reading about.
New Logan exit expected to ease expressway commute
By Peter Demarco, Globe Correspondent, 1/26/2003
With South Shore commuters now able to bypass downtown Boston on their way to Logan Airport thanks to the latest Big Dig ramp opening, who could blame North End pastry shop manager Claudio Midiri for being a little depressed?
New I-93 exit set to open
By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff, 1/24/2003
Beginning sometime tomorrow morning, there will be yet another new route to South Boston, Logan Airport, and points north.
I-90 extension draws glowing reviews from rush-hour drivers
By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff, 1/22/2003
Never before in the crotchety history of Boston traffic have drivers handed out such rosy praise for a road as they did after yesterday's rush-hour debut of the new Interstate 90 extension.
Drivers dig new path to airport
By Peter DeMarco, Globe Correspondent, 1/20/2003
Boston got a long-awaited taste of traffic heaven yesterday, as Massachusetts Turnpike drivers zipped straight to Logan International Airport in record time by way of the new connector tunnel.
1st tunnel ride goes to transportation fans
By Peter DeMarco, Globe Correspondent, 1/19/2003
With signs saying ''Seattle or Bust'' and ''I-90 4-ever'' affixed to their beat-up beige 1986 Audi, Ravi Jain and his buddy Stefan Economou buckled themselves in at 4:30 p.m. yesterday preparing to make history.
Pike tunnel finished, and new era begins
By Raphael Lewis, Globe Staff, 1/18/2003
Forty-eight years after work on the Massachusetts Turnpike began, roughly 3,000 laborers, engineers, and dignitaries gathered in a tunnel beneath the Fort Point Channel yesterday to unveil the last 31/2 miles of that highway.
Pike to Logan: Ready to go
By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff, 1/17/2003
When the first car zips from the Massachusetts Turnpike under the Fort Point Channel to Logan Airport sometime this holiday weekend, it will carry more than a relieved traveler: It will bear the hopes of an entire region that the opening of the new channel tunnel will mark the beginning of the end of the Big Dig.
New Pike tunnel to airport passes fire inspection
By Raphael Lewis, Globe Staff, 1/17/2003
The Big Dig project surmounted a crucial hurdle yesterday en route to opening the Turnpike Extension tunnels to Logan Airport.
A troubling downturn
By Brian McGrory, Globe Columnist, 1/17/2003
I'm driving along the Central Artery yesterday, past the spot where the state cop ties up traffic from Boston to Brunswick every morning, when the oddest thought pops into mind: I'm going to miss this road.
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