Sumner Tunnel reopens after nearly 2-month shutdown, commuters "beyond excited"
BOSTON - The Sumner Tunnel re-opened to traffic early Friday morning for the first time in nearly two months.
Cars started driving through at 1:14 a.m., about four hours ahead of schedule, officially ending this phase of the massive restoration project.
"Beyond excited," said East Boston resident, Eric Roberts about the reopening. "Just being able to finally get to work. I've been working from home the past 2 months now. So excited to get back to work and a little bit of normalcy."
It also means rides on the Blue Line are no longer free. The MBTA offered that benefit to help ease commuter frustration during the 58-day shut down.
The nearly 100-year-old tunnel now has an upgraded ceiling and walls. That's includes 500 new lights, 711 concrete arches, 146 ceiling slabs, and new fireproofing.
"Those arches are not just for looks. They also provide a really integral part of the tunnel now. They're permanently bonded to the tunnel roof which means they're now part of the structure, vastly improving the structural rating of the tunnel for many years. And also improving it's fire rating, so it really was a successful stage of the project," says Highway Administrator, Jonathan Gulliver.
The project is far from done though. The tunnel will be closed again for eight weekends starting this fall and it will be shut down again next summer.
"There is more to come. You know I want to stress that, that we have a number of weekend closures scheduled for the remainder of this year, but this really disruptive phase we're very very happy to put behind us at this point," Gulliver told WBZ.
The first of the closures is scheduled for the weekend of September 15. The full schedule is still being finalized.