The tunnel running from East Boston to downtown will now be closed July 5 to Aug. 31, then again in July and August 2024 — a change from the four-month shutdown that was scheduled to begin this May.
"That gets us out of the school year, gets us out of the heaviest travel time period for business, and it really opens up a lot of possibilities with the community as far as reducing those impacts," Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver said in an interview."It's still a very, very difficult project and still very difficult impacts, but much, much more manageable than what was originally proposed.
"Without putting an actual dollar figure on it, when we look at the impacts and look at the timeframes associated with it, the kind of money that we're talking about is the equivalent of us doing a pretty good incentive program," he said."We're happy to pay those kinds of costs to reduce those impacts."
MassDOT also announced Thursday it will create a"project mitigation working group," bringing together municipalities, first responders, the MBTA, Massport, ride-hailing companies and other organizations affected by the tunnel work. When it first opened to drivers in 1934, the Sumner Tunnel was the first of its kind in Massachusetts. And although it remains a major roadway today, particularly for those getting from Logan International Airport to downtown Boston and points west of the city, officials have warned its age is showing.
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