Drivers weave way around closures

It was Wednesday night last week, and we were wending our way home via a road system transformed, following the detours that have turned this town's traffic patterns on their macadam iz ed head.

Thankfully, it hasn't been too bad, largely because drivers are adjusting their routes, taking the MBTA in larger numbers, working from home, and educating themselves about how to get around. It's truly an amazing thing, something for which the region should be quietly proud.

The powers that be have adjusted, too, removing construction lanes, restricting parking, and stationing police everywhere to keep things moving. All in all, everyone's cooperating . . .

. . . except for the Department of Conservation and Recreation!

On Wednesday night, after a tumultuous day in the heart of Detourville, the DCR shut down a lane of outbound Storrow Drive for a Mozart concert.

On Friday night, it was shut down again for another Hatch Shell event. It was as though the tunnel collapse and everything that's happened since just didn't matter to the DCR.

After years of readers' complaints about the Storrow lane shutdowns, which back traffic up to Interstate 93 south via the Leverett Connector on a good day, DCR has done nothing to remedy the situation.

And just when everyone else is bending over backward to limit traffic intrusions, this happens!

The latest reason for the shutdown, they said, was safety -- to keep traffic on Storrow from barreling into a crowd watching a ``Fantasy Island" festival.

``Of all the mysteries of Boston traffic, surely none is greater than parking on Storrow Drive at the Esplanade during summer concerts," wrote Tony of Cambridge. ``Last night [Wednesday] at 8 p.m., due to that parking, the traffic backup stretched all the way back into the Tip O'Neill tunnel, and my 20-minute trip from downtown to Cambridge stretched to 40 minutes.

At a time when other routes into and out of the greater downtown are closed, this arrangement makes no sense.

``I recall that you have reported in the past that DCR's explanation is that such parking is allowed for safety reasons, essentially to create a barrier between traffic on Storrow and concert-goers on the Esplanade. This explanation also makes no sense -- why not just install a row of Jersey barriers or an attractive fence instead?"

And there was more.

``I was amazed last night to see that, despite everything that's going on now, DCR is maintaining the Storrow Drive lane closure for events at the Hatch Shell," wrote Jon of Jamaica Plain. ``I stayed at work last night late hoping to avoid the traffic, only to find a massive backup going west on Storrow (backed into the I-93 tunnel). This was bad enough before, but now it's out of hand. Can't anything be done?"

When we called Friday, DCR was planning to have parking on Storrow starting at 6 p.m. for a 7:30 p.m. movie. And lo and behold, they kind of listened.

``In response to the traffic issues recently, to ease some of the congestion on Memorial and Storrow, we determined that the best way to do this is that parking will not begin until 7:30, at which point we expect a lot of the rush hour traffic to be out of Boston," said DCR spokeswoman Vanessa Gulati.

For all other Esplanade events during the tunnel closure , DCR won't begin allowing parking on Storrow until 7 p.m. It usually starts as early as 6 p.m., she said.

But other than that, the practice will continue, she said, with the number of events at the Hatch Shell down from 90 a few years ago to 45 this year.

``The number of times there is parking there has been greatly reduced," she said.

For the first time in 15 years, the Red Line between JFK/UMass and North Quincy is running at 50 miles per hour. Track problems had the line down to a slow 25 miles per hour prior to December, when the speed was boosted to 40. The boost means a 30-second savings between the two stations.

We once worked in Suffolk, Va., where the locals would give directions based on landmarks that had burned down or changed names years before.

One of the more famous directions we remember was to take a turn at the ``two black cats," which sent us looking for two black felines waiting obediently by the roadside. We found out later it was the name of a long-gone bar and ended up somewhere in North Carolina.

As a result, the rest of this column will provide directions in short, declarative sentences around Boston's new tunnel closures. It will answer some e-mailed questions to help you get around.

The basic news remains this: The eastbound Massachusetts Turnpike connector and the eastbound Ted Williams Tunnel remain closed. There is no direct link from the MassPike or the South Shore to Logan. Only the MBTA's Silver Line and Massport's Logan Express buses have access to the eastbound Ted Williams Tunnel.

The westbound Ted remains open, but you still can't continue on to the MassPike or I-93.

``I have just finished reading your article online and I am confused," wrote Barry of somewhere in the state of Georgia. ``I am flying in from Atlanta to Logan, and have to get to Rhode Island, via Southeast Expressway. Can I go through Ted Williams Tunnel to South Boston?"

Yes. The Ted Williams Tunnel westbound remains open from Logan International Airport to South Boston, where vehicles are forced to exit. Detours lead to I-93 north and south (known as the Southeast Expressway) and the Turnpike west. Follow the signs.

The Ted Williams Tunnel westbound starts out as two lanes but goes down to a single lane of traffic, which can be slow. The tolls at Logan to the Ted are waived.

The onramp from the South Boston Waterfront to I-93 north and south remains closed.

The MBTA's Silver Line, with the eastbound Ted open, is the best way to get to Logan. Sounds promotional but we're serious. Smooth ride. You can catch it at South Station or at the two South Boston stops (Courthouse or World Trade Center).

``I need your expert advice on a Saturday morning trip from Cape Cod to Logan," wrote Bob of Cape Cod. ``The bus is out of the question for disability reasons. Best route? Are there signs? Is going over Tobin Bridge and backtracking to Logan sensible? Please help!"

Take I-93 north to one of the three available detours:

Exit 23 (Government Center) inside the I-93 tunnel: Once you emerge from the tunnel on the exit ramp, follow the signs. There are two options to get to the Callahan. Either one works, as long as the signs are still standing.

Exit 26 (Storrow Drive): Not being offered as an option anymore by the powers that be, but we offer it here. Get off at Storrow and follow the signs.

Exit 27 (the left-side exit to the Tobin Bridge): Officials will have you going to the first exit in Chelsea (Beacon St.) and following the signs, but forget that. Just head north on Route 1 to Route 16 east and follow the signs to Route 1A south and Logan. Watch out for a killer pothole drivers have written about on Route 16. The turn for Route 1A is tricky, so pay attention.

Coming from the north, just use the Callahan Tunnel (Airport) exit off I-93 south OR take Route 16 east to Route 1A south to Logan and avoid the city altogether.

Coming from the Pike, take the I-93 north exit and follow the directions above for I-93 north.

This, of course, will all change once some new ramps or tunnels open or close, so check out the Starts & Stops blog (www.boston.com/starts/blog) for the latest information.

``Just curious," wrote Scott of Sandwich, ``since traffic doesn't seem to be a problem, why did we need the Big Dig at all?"

Good question.

Again, the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority has stopped all work on the project until the tunnel issue is resolved.

However, two northbound lanes of I-93 , from the mouth of the O'Neill Tunnel to the Atlantic Avenue onramp, will close from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. every night until further notice. The double lane closure will shift from left to right inside the tunnel as the ceiling inspections progress.

Complain to us at starts@globe.com. Don't forget to list hometown. Outside the paper, the column can be found at www.boston.com/starts with daily updates on the Starts & Stops blog at www.boston.com/starts/blog. Mailing address is Starts & Stops, Box 55819, Boston, MA 02205-5819.