Is Boston's "Big Dig" completed ? (1 Viewer)

[Kirk Gunn]

Looking to drive from RI to the Boston suburbs on a Saturday. Normally I would stay on I-95/Rte 128 and circle the city (my final destination is Danvers - off Rte 128 north of the city)

With the "Big Dig" being finished, or at least close to completion, would it make sense to go directly North through downtown ? Or is there still a lot of off-hours construction ?

Thanks - looking forward to getting back to my hometown, then hitting Beantown for some real fun !


"Down by the river, down by the banks of the river Charles
That's where you'll find me, along with lovers, beggars and thieves

Cause I love that Dirty Water...."

 

[Greg Morse]

North through downtown on a Saturday shouldn't be a problem.

Northbound lanes of the bigdig are open, 90 extension to the airport is open. They still have the southbound lanes to open (I believe it's supposed to be either very late this year or very early next year) and tearing down the old central artery.

I still wouldn't want to drive through the city during the commute, but it's a cake walk now during off hours and weekend IMHO.

 

[Maurice McCone]

can't wait for this to finish. I regularly drive out of Boston airport on my way to visiting in Conn. and everytime there is a different diversion.

 

[Jason L.]

Can one of you give an update on the controversy regarding the funding? I remember something a while back where they said that in the beginning this project had been presented to congress with a lowball estimate(s) of the cost in order to get the project going - knowing that once it was started there was no way it was going to be stopped once the true costs were known.

I remember something about the city/state not receiving any more federal funds or something like that - my memory is getting hazy.

 

[Kirk Gunn]

Thanks Greg - looks like the return trip South on Wednesday will be Rte 128 after rush hour (if there is such a time...)

Cheers !

 

[Greg Morse]

Traffic isn't nearly as bad going southbound either now. Because of the 90 extension to the airport, all that traffic that used to go between 90 and the Cally and Sumner tunnels has been taken off 93. I've found I have very few reservations about getting on 93 South during the rush hour now. Other than Fridays, traffic seems much smoother than it used to be. Best advice would be to check out the traffic reports on boston.com before you head back down and base your travels on where the accidents are.

Jason, I haven't heard much about the funding for the last year or so. I believe they audited the project, some of the contractors have been sued, management shaken (or would it be shook) up and I don't believe the price tag has increased beyond the 14.9 billion it's been set at the last few years. If I'm not mistaken, the original pricetag was somewhere on the order of 2 billion. One things for sure, it's an absolute engineering masterpiece no matter the pricetag.

 

[Kirk Gunn]

2 Billion up to 14.9 Billion ! Can't see why a management shake up should occur.... :rolleyes

 

[Jeff Gatie]

True, the Big Dig is an engineering wonder and anyone who drove the central artery in the last 40 years knows it was necessary to replace an eyesore that was obsolete the day it opened. As far as the funding is concerned, this is Boston we are talking about. Did anyone who knows Boston think there was not going to be a 700% override? Stories like the 10 dumptrucks that were leased for $50,000/month and never left the yard would be big news if it did not happen all the time. Bottom line, it put a lot of people to work and lined a lot of pockets, just like any major undertaking in the Olde Towne. I'm just glad it's almost finished!

 

[Steven K]

Avoid 128 like the plague during rush hour!!!

Traffic eases up around 7 PM... you can take it (128) right to I-95.

Southbound lanes of I-93 (artery) are still elevated, and the lower deck is still horrific during rush hour. The northbound liberty tunnel does speed things up a bit but if you are coming from the north, you wont be taking this.