So far, new southbound I-93 a smooth ride

The passenger door is unlocked, so come with us on our ride to work for a tunnel-vision look at Interstate 93 southbound's new morning commute.

But first, before we leave the driveway, a cynical Boston caveat. It's been two weeks since the new tunnel opened, weeks that experienced low vacation-period traffic volume. We'll see what happens tomorrow, the first real test, and a month or two from now. In the meantime, consider the following review a tad tainted.

If things don't change, we'll be very, very happy. Traffic has flowed well -- nothing that's going to set new records for speed through Boston, but we rarely touched our brakes and did a steady 45 to 50 miles per hour end-to-end in the tunnel and along most of the route.

It's on the periphery of our commute, in areas we're glad we don't regularly travel, that the complaints are coming from. For example, problems during both the morning and afternoon commutes near Leverett Circle around the FleetCenter and Storrow Drive had readers nearly rabid.

The area was gridlocked during peak weekday travel during much of the past two weeks, with the new configuration at the confluence contributing to the chaos.

Here's why things are getting sticky. Drivers going to North Station from Exit 26 (Storrow Drive/North Station) in the new northbound tunnel roll across lanes of traffic headed to both I-93 north and the Tobin Bridge at the circle. Add a set of new and badly timed traffic signals to the human desire to get there yesterday, and the intersection can be nearly impassable.

Paul of Boston wrote that "the four Leverett Circle signals are not timed well and, consequently, cause almost complete gridlock of the area by not allowing traffic to drain out of the circle before sending traffic from Storrow Drive pouring in."

Three to five cars going from McGrath Highway (Monsignor O'Brien and Route 28) make the light, Paul wrote, while traffic coming off Nashua Street and headed for I-93 is refusing to yield to the red light. He said driver confusion about which lane to be in increases the problem.

"Oh yes, to add to the fun, the pavement on McGrath between the end of the drawbridge and the circle has been grooved for resurfacing," wrote Paul.

"Please tell me that the current situation at the intersection . . . is only temporary," wrote Frank of Saugus. "I spent 40 minutes last week staring at the Museum of Science. It's nice and all, but come on now."

"Quite a mess," wrote Diane of Weston.

As with all things Big Dig, this indeed is said to be a temporary headache, with some of the problems at Leverett Circle pledged to be fixed within the next week "as modifications get made to the temporary traffic signal system that handles traffic coming into and out of Leverett Circle," wrote Big Dig spokesman Doug Hanchett in response to our questions.

After the lights are timed correctly, however, this is still going to be a yearlong pain.

The temporary traffic configuration will be eliminated at the end of 2004 when a new underground ramp opens from Storrow Drive inbound toward the Leverett Connector Bridge over the Charles River. This new and significant underground ramp (you can see the tunnel's mouth on your left before the circle headed inbound) will allow Storrow Drive motorists headed to both I-93 north and the Tobin Bridge (1,000 vehicles per hour) to travel underneath Leverett Circle.

In the meantime, Big Dig traffic managers are offering three tips to drivers that can ease the ache. (When the Big Dig folks start offering tips, you know things are bad.) First: McGrath Highway drivers who currently use the new Leverett Circle onramp to I-93 south may save time by taking the Gilmore Bridge (a left turn off the inbound McGrath Highway at the light before the Museum of Science) and Rutherford Avenue to the Charlestown City Square onramp to I-93 south.

Unlike the old City Square on-ramp, which had to merge into the old I-93 south elevated roadway, the new City Square on-ramp gets its own lane on the Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge. According to Hanchett, the new ramp configuration "greatly improves" traffic flow onto I-93 south from City Square and Rutherford Avenue.

Second: Watertown, Belmont, Cambridge, and Allston/Brighton drivers who currently take Storrow Drive inbound to the Callahan Tunnel via I-93 south may save time by taking the Pike's Allston/Brighton onramp onto the Mass. Pike eastbound and use the new I-90 connector and Ted Williams Tunnel across Boston Harbor to Logan Airport, East Boston, and Route 1A.

Third: Drivers headed south from Charlestown's City Square on the North Washington Street bridge are reminded that the Causeway Street on-ramp to the old I-93 south is now closed. North Washington Street bridge drivers should go straight through Keany Square and access the new I-93 south tunnel at Haymarket, instead of turning right onto Causeway Street and mistakenly ending up on Nashua Street and into the Leverett Circle.

Potholes II

You thought we'd forgotten, didn't you? Actually we had forgotten about the second annual Starts & Stops Potholes. But operating on the better-late-than-never theory, we now present the highlights of all things transportation in 2003. May it rest in peace. BEST INITIATIVE THAT NEVER TOOK PLACE: Last year's first annual Potholes began with this same topic, and the honors went to the MBTA for its failed effort to wire the transit system for cellphone use. The reason cell carriers weren't interested in the project was because they said they'd rather wire the Big Dig. So the next time you're rolling through the northbound or southbound tunnels, pull out your cellphone, note the "No Service" signal, and think of this year's winner in this category, Chairman Matthew Amorello and the folks at the Big Dig who couldn't get a dial tone for $14.6 billion.

BEST INITIATIVE THAT DID TAKE PLACE: The jury's still out, but despite the headaches and the mixups, the debut of the new north and southbound tunnels truly can't be beat.

WORST INITIATIVE THAT THANKFULLY DID NOT TAKE PLACE: Don't get us wrong. We love the Boston Pops and the hum of controversy. But seeing Amorello conduct the orchestra underground during an expensive invite-only southbound tunnel celebration would have grated on a lot of nerves. Then money became an issue, then the corporate sponsor got mad over the alleged misuse of Fast Lane funds, and then -- pop! -- no concert.

MOST AMAZING THING TO HAPPEN: One of the most convoluted, dangerous, and generally messed-up intersections in the known universe is getting fixed up. The so-called "Intersection from Hell" at the Columbia Road exit from the Southeast Expressway is getting new lights, sidewalks, and sanity after years and years of blinking lights and barbarian behavior. But we'll believe it when we see it.

SCARIEST THING (ROAD): A tie. First, the dangerous new merges from I-93 onto the Massachusetts Turnpike, which force drivers to perform a strange neck twist to see over a jersey barrier while also trying to merge. Horrible. Second, the amazingly dangerous and mountainous bump just before daylight in the southbound Dewey Square (South Station) Tunnel. It's a monster in the middle lane that sends truck tires airborne at the right speed. Heck, they go airborne at any speed. In an amazing sense of denial, Big Dig officials have said they can't find said bump.

BIGGEST ROAD BLOCK (ROCK): The massive Salem gabbro-diorite boulder that delayed Phase II of the MBTA's Silver Line for several months. The rock, described as fiercely strong, escaped detection despite numerous test borings in the Fort Point Channel, where the T is digging a tunnel to take Silver Line buses to South Boston. SCARIEST THING (TRANSIT): The strange and very public birth of a newborn on a Red Line train headed into Boston. This story, in which the troubled mother denied all assistance after allowing her newborn to drop on the floor, still gives us the jitters.

MOST ANNOYING THING: Although it has doubled its ridership, the MBTA's Silver Line was shaking up portions of the South End. It seems the new 60-foot articulated buses were causing some South End homes and businesses to vibrate as the buses passed by or sat idle at a nearby stop.

MOST RESPONSIVE THING: Although they don't like bad news about their flagship fleet, T officials got on this vibration story as soon as it broke and have since worked with the bus manufacturer and local residents to fix the problem.

STRANGEST THING: Well, after the Salem gabbro-diorite boulder, it's got to be the bird that slowed traffic on I-95 northbound near Sharon and environs, a strange feathered friend that bobbed and weaved at windshields and was seen along the I-495 corridor as well. We received e-mail after e-mail from folks who had seen the bird, whose whereabouts today remain unknown.

Pit stops

The MBTA has rescheduled two Roxbury public workshops on bus service improvements. The original meetings were canceled after last month's snowstorms. The new workshops are being held from 2 to 3:30 p.m. and from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 8, in the Dudley Branch Library, 65 Warren St., Roxbury.

Can't get there . . .

The Sumner Tunnel on-ramp to I-93 north closed at 10 p.m. Friday and will reopen around 5:30 a.m. tomorrow. The on-ramp will also be closed from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. tomorrow through Friday. The Haymarket on-ramp to I-93 north closed at 10 p.m. Friday and will reopen at 5:30 a.m. tomorrow.

Sudbury Street will be closed between Congress Street and Blackstone Street from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. today. Access to and from Parcel 7 parking garage will be maintained.

The Haymarket onramp to I-93 south and the Callahan Tunnel will be closed from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. today. Pedestrian access from Haymarket Station to Cross Street (North End) will be closed and detoured.

Exit 27 (Tobin Bridge) off I-93 north, and the Storrow Drive on-ramp from Leverett Circle to the Tobin Bridge will be closed from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. tomorrow through Wednesday morning. The Leverett Circle Connector from Storrow Drive to I-93 northbound will remain open.

The Rutherford Avenue onramp to the Tobin Bridge (Route 1 north) will be closed from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Wednesday through Sunday, Jan. 11.

The Tobin Bridge ramp to I-93 south and Storrow Drive will be detoured from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Friday through next Monday morning, Jan. 12.

The Rutherford Avenue/Charlestown City Square on-ramp to I-93 south and Storrow Drive will be closed from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Friday through next Monday morning, Jan. 12.

Complain to us at starts@globe.com. Don't forget to send us your hometown.Outside of the paper, the column can be found at http://www.boston.com/news/local/startsandstops/. Our mailing address is Starts & Stops, P.O. Box 2378, Boston, MA 02107-2378.