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.
Of course, that was in the middle of a holiday weekend. The true test for the tunnel, which begins in Chinatown and merges with the Ted Williams Tunnel in South Boston, comes tomorrow, when commuters return to the city.
About 15,000 cars used the $6.5 billion, 3 1/2-mile tunnel during its first day of operation, said Sean O'Neill, spokesman for the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority. That number may triple tomorrow. Once motorists adapt to the route change -- many stuck to the Callahan and Sumner tunnels yesterday -- Big Dig analysts predict the tunnel will be used by 50,000 vehicles a day.
In addition to expediting trips to the airport from the west -- it took a Globe reporter driving the speed limit approximately seven minutes to reach the airport from the Allston-Brighton tolls yesterday morning -- the tunnel is expected to ease congestion on the Central Artery and the Southeast Expressway.
The last major piece of construction involving the Ted Williams Tunnel is next weekend's opening of Exit 20 on the northbound side of the Expressway, just past the Frontage Road exit. The new exit ramp will lead South Shore commuters directly into the Interstate 90 extension tunnel.
Politicians and transportation officials lauded the new tunnel at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday. On Saturday, traffic in the Ted Williams Tunnel was brought to a halt as Turnpike chairman Matthew J. Amorello officially opened the connector tunnel's westbound lanes.
The eastbound lanes, though, opened without a hint of fanfare. At 6:45 a.m. yesterday, workers pulled away construction cones blocking the entrance. State Police troopers then waved in the inaugural batch of motorists.
Traffic was constricted to one lane in parts of the tunnel, producing minor backups, before cones were removed in the late afternoon.
Whereas Ravi Jain of Jamaica Plain and Stefan Economou of Somerville were applauded as they christened the westbound lanes, the identity of the first eastbound traveler is unknown.
Still, thousands of drivers rejoiced in the tunnel's opening. Several boasted that they had chopped at least 10 minutes from their airport commutes.
Valerie Tirman, 49, of Houston, who was visiting her mother in Needham, boarded a Logan Express shuttle bus at the Framingham depot at 10 a.m. A scant 22 minutes later, she was strolling into the airport lobby.
"When you board the bus, there's a recorded message that says the trip will take 30 minutes to 45 minutes, so they'll have to change that," she said. "It's fantastic."
Naomi and Jeff Golden of Needham used the Callahan Tunnel when they drove her mother to the airport Saturday. Yesterday, it was Jeff's turn to fly, but this time, they took the Pike all the way in.
"The signs were very clear," Jeff Golden said. "It was easy on, easy off."
A few drivers even got goose bumps on their maiden voyages. Rick Katz, driving the 1 p.m. Logan Express from Framingham, was so enthralled that he announced the impending tunnel over the bus's intercom.
"Oh, this is a lot quicker," he said moments later as the bus streaked 1 miles under the Fort Point Channel.
As the bus emerged from the tunnel, passenger Norman Tremblay, 75, of Brookfield, looked at his watch. "Twenty-three minutes," he said.
"I guess we complained about it for a long time, but we're going to get the benefits of it now."
This story ran on page B1 of the Boston Globe on 1/20/2003.
© Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.
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