If you happened to get on the commuter rail in Worcester this morning - namely, the 6:20 am train - you might have noticed you got to Boston a lot faster than you normally do ... and with just one other stop.

Today was the first run of express service between Worcester and Boston for both the morning and afternoon commutes. It's somewhat limited at this point, but transportation officials say they're hopeful it can expand in the future to help passengers travel more quickly between the state's largest cities - which could be beneficial on many levels.

You may have noticed I haven't blogged since Marathon Monday. Where does one begin with the past week and a half we've had in this city? I'm sitting here at my keyboard trying to answer that question, and I honestly don't know.

I can tell you that, as both a city resident and a member of the media, it's been hectic on many levels on my end. It's nice to finally see life starting to ease back into some semblance of normalcy - which includes talking with you about transportation. There's a little bit of everything in today's entry as we get back into the swing of things. I can only hope that you and yours are well and coping as best as possible after the terrible events at the marathon. For those reading from out of town - thank you for all of your positive energy and love. #bostonstrong

Now, let's talk about some closures we've got coming up over the next few days... starting with major shutdowns through a chunk of Cambridge today. Regular construction lists will come back starting up next week, by the way.

Ahhh, Marathon Monday. For many, it's a chance to seize the day, power through 26.2 miles and have bragging rights for the rest of their lives. For others, it's a chance to set up shop along the marathon route, eat a bunch of tasty food and have some drinks, rest, and relax. Others may use the day to check out Patriot's Day activities set up around Eastern Massachusetts. (It's looking to be a gorgeous day for re-enactments, should the forecast hold.)

However, it's one of the biggest days for traffic reporters here in Boston. We'll be glued to cameras and map sensors trying to get you to where you have to go among the sea of road closures and public transit diversions that will inevitably be set up. (Anyone want to bring us some cheeseburgers or something?) It's going to be a doozy of a travel day, that's for sure. (By the way, if you're new to the area, don't forget to check out the primer I put together last Marathon Monday to help you get around.)

I'm just going to throw this out there: this is not going to be a pleasant week for many commuters.

In fact, this week is going to be the start of headaches that will be sticking around for weeks - if not months - to come... and many of you will be affected. The big projects getting going this week are going to be in Cambridge and Needham, as well as on the Tobin and Sagamore bridges. We've been talking about the Tobin and Sagamore work for the past couple of weeks, so that's been expected. River road commuters, though - heads up...

We're coming up on that season where traffic getting on and off the Cape starts to ratchet up to barely-tolerable levels. Throw construction into that mix and the situation has the potential to get downright nasty. According to recent news from the Army Corps of Engineers, they're going to try to avoid that with their latest project -- but we're going to start seeing some effects sooner than later.

The Green Line extension project into Somerville and Medford from Cambridge is one of the top priorities for the MBTA. In fact, they've already broken ground on one of the new stations in Union Square. A couple of months ago, two West Medford residents showed their feelings against it -- to the tune of suing the MBTA and the DOT over environmental issues. Last week, the DOT answered in federal court.

For all the frustrations that come with driving in the winter months, many commuters who use the Tobin Bridge were actually looking forward to this winter. After all, construction on the bridge over the summer and fall of this past year kept traffic completely gridlocked during both morning and afternoon rush hour -- and those backups snarled traffic all through the city of Boston and beyond.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but winter's on it's way out -- and the construction's coming back.

If you've been traveling on Route 2 through Lincoln anytime this week, you may have noticed that there's significantly fewer trees on the eastbound side. And homes. And several more construction vehicles.

Residents of Concord and Lincoln have been warned about this upcoming project for some time, and it's finally kicking in -- and the work will be around for quite a while...

Sometimes it's the little things that can completely throw a commute off track - pun slightly intended - and cause significant delays, which nobody wants. A slight rail defect, a loose screw, a blip in a signal system.

A team at a local university is now working to fix that, with help from the federal government - and a transit system halfway across the country.

That survey about MBTA overnight ridership from this weekend's entry may not do as much good as some of us had hoped.

While there's been lots of talk about Governor Patrick's transportation funding plan, we're now finding that the MBTA is kind of stuck between a rail and a hard place when it comes to cash.

The fiscal year for the agency starts July 1, but they have to present an as-close-to-balanced-as-they-can-get budget to the Board of Directors by April 15. Trouble is, many on Beacon Hill have said it's going to be several months before they can come to a compromise on the funding plan -- even just the first response to the proposed tax hikes and other revenue boosters isn't due until April 10th of this year. The funding may or may not show up in time, but nothing's guaranteed.

Wouldn't it be nice to be able to ride the T just a little bit later at night?

There's a survey going around that's trying to gauge just how many of you are actually behind that idea -- and just how much you'd be willing to pay for it.

Some of the issues that took Fung Wah buses off the road this week are problems that, if it were your car at inspection, would keep you from getting a sticker: oil leaks, broken doors, defective airbags, cracks in the frames, broken axles, loose nuts and bolts ... it goes on.

But let's be honest: We've known that Fung Wah was sketchy for a long time. Speaking from both personal experience and some quick Internet searching, the fact is that the cheap ride to New York just wasn't as satisfactory as it could be, for many reasons. Granted, you get what you pay for - $15 is sometimes all it takes to secure passage between Boston and New York out of South Station.

As we look forward to yet another significant winter storm (the third in three weeks), worries are high in many towns about whether the cost of cleaning up of these storms will be able to be kept under budget. In the city of Boston, the Herald reports that likely won't be the case, as $14 million of the city's $17.8 million snow budget was spent just on the blizzard two weeks ago.

If you're a frequent commuter through Leverett Circle downtown, you might have noticed that the ride has been a bit more gridlocked lately -- and not just during the rush hour. What's holding everyone up is a problem in the tunnel that carries the ramp from Leverett Circle to the O'Neill Tunnel southbound.

++ UPDATE (2:45 PM) ++ The governor's administration has now placed a travel ban in effect on ALL Massachusetts roadways as of 4:00 PM:

Kurt Schwartz, director of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, said at the news conference that the travel ban applies to all roads in the state, but there are various exceptions, such as for public safety, media, and vehicles supplying esssential businesses like convenience stores and hardware stores. Violating the travel ban, he said, could incur a penalty of a year in jail and a $500 fine.

Tolls are no longer being collected for the duration of the storm on the Pike and Tobin.

Stay safe!
----
All right, change of plans. "Nemo", as it were, is going to take front and center stage for this post. I'm hoping beyond hope that traffic for the Friday afternoon commute will be minimal, considering this Thursday evening brought some of the worst traffic I've seen in months. (Actually, now that I think about it, Superstorm Sandy was the last time.)

Regardless, below the cut, I'll have the rundown of how transportation across the area is set to be affected. This info is current as of very early Friday morning. I will try to update as often as possible if anything major changes. You can also follow me on Twitter, where I'll try to send through any major developments. Be sure to stay tuned to boston.com for all the latest, though.

Be safe! Back to "normal" posting Monday.

Short but sweet entry today -- but be sure to read -- there's a closure tonight on 93!

I'll be back again later this week. We'll talk about the ongoing issues on Soldiers Field Road and Memorial Drive (namely, how people tend to run into bridges, and how to fix it). I'll also have the total MBTA ridership numbers from this past year, and we'll (of course) go over the planned weekend construction.

Also coming soon: some answers to reader questions, including one regarding truckers on the Pike and another about a specific light exchange in Newton that seems to hold traffic up pretty consistently.

Also-also: I still want to hear your feedback about the city's bus stops! (Or, rather, how I think there's too many of them.) Head over here to the entry and leave your thoughts on which bus route could use a culling in the comments.

I was sitting in the operations center here at my workplace the other morning with a coworker, listening to scanners and a few tunes by Chicago. Suddenly, said coworker turned to me and asked, "What's up with that whole Government Center thing, anyway?"

"What Government Center thing? Oh, wait, the station closure?"
"Yeah."
"...Hmm. Well, it's still closing ... sometime this year as far as I know. I should find out."

Writing to you tonight as yet another snowstorm moves through here in Boston. With any luck, your commute was (somewhat) painless and quite safe. In this entry, we'll talk about why the T has too many bus stops, the closing of 93 through downtown Boston, and a traffic problem brewing for the end of the week on the Waterfront. There's, of course, a list of construction for the downtown Boston area as well.

Later this week I'll be writing about the Government Center stop -- what's the latest with the closing down of it? We heard about that months ago, but when's it actually supposed to happen? I'll also (finally) talk about the Green Line GPS development (app builders, hark!).

Of course, any questions or comments, send them my way: commuting.boston at gmail dot com.

Back from a few days off. Today we'll talk about the one thing that's on our minds here in Boston -- this frigid weather. (Normal as it may be for this time of year, it's still a pain sometimes -- especially on the rails.)

Next week we'll talk about the news on the Green Line -- that is, the new GPS they're working on for each trolley to allow for smartphone tracking apps. Let me know if you're a Green Line rider and how you feel about the new developments. My email: commuting.boston at gmail dot com.

Stay warm!

Today's entry is a bit of a doozy. Lots going on -- I've outlined the Patrick Administration's plan for transportation funding, and their ideas on how to get the system back to good. I've also got some news on a new traffic pattern on 128, the holiday schedule in place for Monday on the MBTA, and your usual construction information.

I'll be taking Monday off for the holiday -- have a safe commute, and I'll be back later on next week with more of your questions and ideas. If you have anything to pass on, please send it to me at commuting dot boston at gmail.com!

UPDATE (4:10 PM, January 15): Sara Lavoie of MassDOT has just informed me that, due to the incoming snow, the scheduled closure for tonight on Interstate 93 has been cancelled. They'll be rescheduling soon. Good news for commuters - but be careful in that snow!
---
Big news tonight for late-night commuters on 93 northbound -- check that out behind the cut -- you'll need to give yourself some extra time to get through Boston, for sure. Also, I've got a question from a reader about a common problem that seems to affect T employees as much as the rest of us commuters.

Later this week, we'll take a look at Governor Patrick's transportation funding plan that was released earlier this week. State officials are calling it "ambitious", and there are some state legislators that say it doesn't do enough to tackle the problem of spending. I'll also have some information on a new traffic pattern going into place on 128 through Needham and Dedham.

Thanks for all your great insight on the Route 3 toll issue! It's true that the significant congestion is a problem that has to be dealt with, but I'm still not exactly convinced that tolls would be the best solution. We'll have to wait and see how that all plays out.

Next week I'll have a question from a reader about parking tickets -- yes, this relates to the T -- and I'll also have your MLK Day MBTA schedule, among other things. Have a good weekend!
---

There's plenty of opinion on a new idea to try to relieve congestion on Route 3. A full discussion on that lies under the cut. Also, if you're a commuter on the Braga Bridge, there's a meeting coming up that you can attend to get your two cents in about a second wave of construction that'll be starting up in a few months.

Later this week we'll talk about the commuter rail again - namely, how those behind the scenes prepare for winter weather. As always, if there's something you want to discuss, toss me an email at commuting.boston at gmail dot com.

Back again, but not completely out of holiday mode... hope you had a relaxing and exciting time with your family and friends.

Today, we'll reflect on the tough times rail riders have had over the past couple of days due to the frigid temperatures. There's also an update on that fiscal report the Governor's supposed to give the state's transportation agencies... we'll also discuss when Orange Line riders will still have to deal with Assembly Square construction.

Next week we'll discuss a proposal that's been floating around on the South Shore for a little while. Commuters who use Route 3 to and from Boston know the hassle of sitting in traffic from Hingham to Braintree every day. A former state transportation official says that tolls might be the trick to cut back on the traffic -- but there's some strong voices against the idea. Also, I'll have information on a way for Fall River residents to chime in with their thoughts about another wave of construction on the Braga Bridge.

A few tidbits for you today about the Sumner tunnel and the general state of the T. With 2013 fast approaching, don't forget that the MBTA holiday schedule will be in effect on Monday and Tuesday for all services. The T will be suspending fare collection on Monday night after 8:00 PM, and they'll also be extending service until 2:00 AM on many lines. Check out my holiday schedule post here to see if the revised schedule will fit in with your revelry.

I'll be back on Friday the 4th with more -- until then, have a happy and healthy New Year!