‘Yes, the tunnel is safe’
Storrow Drive at approach to its tunnel
Solarapex photo
From The Boston Guardian, article by Jules Roscoe
(New England Diary’s editor, Robert Whitcomb, is chairman of The Boston Guardian)
The Storrow Drive Tunnel will begin undergoing regular construction in April to strengthen and repair the roof, as part of a $10 million project to extend the tunnel’s life until it can be fully rehabilitated.
“Closures of Storrow Drive eastbound and Soldiers Field Road eastbound will be implemented nightly beginning the first week of April, Sunday night through Thursday night, from 8 pm to 5 am. the following morning,” MassDOT spokesperson John Goggin said.
These closures begin April 5. There will be posted detours in place. The department will also send out official traffic advisories before work begins and is working on a website to host information and updates about the project. “MassDOT and DCR have been meeting with legislators, neighbors and other stakeholders, and will continue to communicate all closures and any modifications to work schedules in advance,” Goggin said.
These interim repairs will focus on the concrete of the internal ceiling of the tunnel. The last major repair project took place in 2008, and there have been piecemeal repairs like this one since then. Goggin said that future repairs would include “structural mitigation measures.”
“This is phase one,” said State Rep. Jay Livingstone, who serves the Back Bay and Beacon Hill where Storrow Drive is located. Livingstone attended a briefing on the project for officials and community members on March 26.
“There’s a potential phase two in September, depending on if they find additional issues in this phase. They’ve done some preliminary work over the last few weeks.”
The tunnel was originally constructed in the early 1950s, and it requires constant maintenance to keep the infrastructure safe for the public. Two weeks ago, Livingstone noticed a series of lane closures in the tunnel, and asked Kendra Amaral, the deputy commissioner of policy for the state’s conservation department, if it was safe to use.
“I was first told 13 years [ago] that the tunnel needed to be replaced in the near term,” Livingstone wrote in the message. “It seems like it has been a priority to replace at times over my tenure of representative, but nothing has happened.”
“Yes, the tunnel is safe,” Amaral wrote in response. “DCR [the conservation department] and MassDOT are working on a $10 million project to make repairs and improvements to the Storrow Drive Tunnel to extend its useful life until a major tunnel rehabilitation/ replacement project can be implemented, which likely could be up to 10 to 15 years in the future. The last major Interim Repair Project in 2008 was completed for $15 million, and there have been no significant repairs since.”
Livingstone said after the community official briefing last Thursday that the repairs planned this year would extend the life of the tunnel by about eight to 10 years, and that the repairs from the Interim Repair Project in 2008 were holding well.
There’s no clear end timeline for this next slew of repairs, but both Goggin and Amaral wrote that the department would take the number of celebrations in Boston this summer, and likely the tourism they bring with them, into account. Amaral said the work would be conducted “ahead of Massachusetts’ big spring and summer of events.”
“Work restrictions will be implemented as necessary to minimize impacts during significant local events, such as concerts and events at Fenway, TD Garden, as well as during the FIFA World Cup and MA250 celebrations,” Goggin said.