There's been word all week about the DOT closing down two popular ramps to the O'Neill Tunnel and Zakim Bridge northbound for work over the weekend. However, the wet weather has foiled the plans, and it looks like that won't be happening.

Michael Verseckes of the DOT says the work was going to be taking place on the ramps from Haymarket Square and the Sumner Tunnel. They were set to be closed at 8:00 PM tonight and 10:00 PM tomorrow night. There's been no word as to when the work will be rescheduled for, but of course, when I find out, I'll pass it on.

Keep in mind, though - there's more in the way of closures coming up in the next few days...

We start today's entry with a question from Sean in Chelsea:

"I saw your post about the Chelsea Street bridge, and I wonder if you could find out what the deal is on the Rte 99 bridge just outside Sullivan Square. I go over it every day and I've been tracking the "progress" or lack thereof for years. Back in November of 2010 is when the traffic was first reduced to 2 lanes from 4 and routed over the east 2 lanes of the bridge. They've had complete access to the other 2 lanes for over 2 1/2 years and they are not done yet. Best guess it looks like it could be 3 full years to do 1/2 of the work.

Again, they have complete access to that side of the bridge. What the hell is taking so long? They got the Chelsea Street bridge complete (or nearly complete) with 6 months of uninterrupted access. Is it really going to take 6 years or more to compete this work?"

Commuters in Leominster are about to be a little more inconvenienced.

If you've been utilizing the shuttle service provided by the Montachusett Regional Transit Authority that runs from the Mall at Whitney Field to the North Leominster Intermodal Transportation Center, we're now learning that's not going to be an option come July 1st. What's going on?

UPDATE (10:55 AM): State police are reopening the Mass Pike in both directions as I type. Should be completely opened by about 11:15. Heavy delays remain in place, so give yourself lots of extra time. Storrow Drive is going to be gridlocked, too, on the westbound side because of that lane closure at the Hatch Shell for the Children's Hospital Walk.
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... at least downtown. Just passing it along that, if you were planning on taking the Pike through the Prudential Tunnel this morning, it's not going to happen.

State police have shut down the tunnel in both directions for a variety of reasons. Their Twitter account cites safety reasons - it's been pitch black in there since early this morning and the ventilation systems are down too. Plus, NStar crews likely have to access the area to get to the Scotia Street substation where this snafu started.

The Department of Transportation has reported that traffic eastbound is being detoured at Exit 18 (Allston Brighton tolls). Westbound traffic will be detoured coming out of the Ted Williams onto the Expressway southbound. Storrow Drive is going to be your best bet for an alternate but keep in mind that the right lane westbound will be closed through most of the morning into the afternoon by the Hatch Shell due to an event there.

So far there is no estimated time of reopening, but NStar has reported that the lights will hopefully be back on between 12-1 this afternoon. I'll let you know when it does.

Stephen, a reader of the blog, wrote in to me recently. He said, in part:

"... I saw that the Mass DOT said the Chelsea Street bridge will be closed weeknights until July 1st. While this may not seem to be a big thing it is for the thousand of us that work at Logan Airport. The employee garage sits just across from this bridge and when the bridge is closed it takes a 10 minute bus ride and turns it into a 20 to 30 minute bus ride and that’s each way.

The bridge was completed (supposedly) last May at I believe the cost of over $200 million dollars to the taxpayers and there has hardly been a week in this past year that it hasn’t been closed at night for something. Do you think you could find out why this bridge never seems to be working properly and when it will finally be open and functioning as designed and paid for with our money?"

So you're sitting on the Green Line, for example, at Copley Station. Your phone's not showing any sign of service, as you're used to in that stretch of tunnel. All of a sudden, you hear what you think is a ringtone. Really? Underground? Here?

Sure enough, the train starts going, and someone starts up a loud conversation. (Which, as any courteous T rider knows, is just downright rude, but that's for the Courtesy Critters to determine.) Wait a minute. There's cell phone service here? Why are they having a conversation and I'm stuck here, devoid of connectivity (as pleasant as that may be at the time)?

While those who care more about the weather for Memorial Day weekend wrung their hands and were worried about busted forecasts, we on the traffic side of things were sure of one thing: traffic was going to be a mess. And it was.

Kicking off the blog this afternoon, check out this crazy crash on 128/95 southbound in Dedham:

Pardon the fuzzy obvious-cell-phone-from-my-copter-monitor shot, but I'm in here and not out there... it's taking place as I'm polishing up today's entry. What a mess! Said tractor-trailer reportedly was driving southbound on 128/95 around Route 109 in Dedham when the driver hit a box truck, causing the tractor-trailer to swerve and jack-knife.

The road has been shut down twice already today and I'm assuming this will take some time to clear. So far we're seeing heavy delays from Route 2 in Lexington to the crash scene. That's over twenty miles! Bad news for a Friday commute - which is tough enough as it is. Avoid if you're catching this before you leave the office.

Here in the traffic operations center, we usually see the busiest traffic days around major holidays - not that Mother's Day isn't one, we all love our moms - but more like Thanksgiving, Columbus Day, Memorial Day, etc. So upon reading the news that today could possibly be the busiest traffic day of the year, some of us were a little perplexed.

Mother's Day? Really?

It would be difficult to argue that traffic here in Boston, at times, is anything but mind-numbingly horrible. Think about it - especially in the summer, on a Friday evening ... a commute that normally takes you half an hour can jam up to easily two or three hours.

Every so often, a survey comes out comparing our traffic to other cities - and, this time, a survey by INRIX, a traffic information group, has put us in the top ten (but just barely!).

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!
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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.