More woes for commute from north

In a change that will slow the morning drive for thousands of North Shore commuters, the Sumner Tunnel from East Boston to the North End will drop from two lanes to one for six months, beginning Saturday morning, so that Big Dig construction on the city end of the tunnel can be completed.

The lane closure is necessary principally to clear room for workers to remove several concrete slabs that form retaining walls around the tunnel's exit in Boston, Big Dig officials said. The change is also expected to bog down traffic on Route 1A south and to slow vehicles that are leaving Logan Airport and heading into the tunnel.

Massachusetts Turnpike Authority chairman Matthew J. Amorello announced the closing during a press conference yesterday, triggering anger among commuters who were caught unaware and thought they were finished with Big Dig construction delays. Many commuters interviewed yesterday angrily recalled the backups that occurred last year when a planned two-week lane closing in the Sumner Tunnel was extended to six weeks.

''It's terrible," said Dr. Nathaniel M. Alpert, who lives in Swampscott and works at Massachusetts General Hospital. He said he plans to leave for work 10 to 15 minutes before his usual 6 a.m. departure to avoid the potential traffic jam at the East Boston tolls leading to the tunnel entrance.

The main options for drivers who want to avoid the Sumner during the lane closing are taking the Ted Williams Tunnel to Interstate 93 north or taking Route 1 south to the Tobin Bridge.

Amorello conceded yesterday that the lane closing would cause delays. ''We expect that travel through the Sumner Tunnel will be a little slower than folks have become accustomed to," he said.

But he pointed out that ever since the connection between the Ted Williams Tunnel and I-93 south opened earlier this year, peak volume in the Sumner has been nearly halved, dropping from 3,000 vehicles per hour to about 1,700 vehicles per hour.

In December 2002, before the Ted Williams Tunnel opened to all traffic, 38,000 vehicles used the Sumner tunnel each day, according to Big Dig figures. This past May, when officials recounted, an average of 21,000 a day used the tunnel.

''It will take a little longer time to travel through the Sumner Tunnel, but bear with us," Amorello said, asking that motorists pay careful attention to new signs and directions.

He added that the best alternate route around the Sumner -- taking the Ted Williams Tunnel to I-93 north and exiting at Government Center -- would add three to four minutes to the ride, without traffic.

''It's a lot closer than it may appear on a map," he said.

The lane in the tunnel is scheduled to close at 10 a.m. Saturday. The closing will allow workers to remove the retaining walls as well as the buried footing for the old elevated Central Artery, and do some preparation work for the park that will sit above the Big Dig tunnels.

At the same time as the lane closing, several other changes that are part of Big Dig construction will take effect, officials said, but they are not expected to significantly affect the flow of traffic. A new, permanent offramp will open from the Sumner to Government Center and the North End, allowing traffic in the tunnel to exit into the intersection of New Chardon and North Washington streets.

At the end of the new exit, drivers can either take New Chardon toward Government Center or North Washington Street to Commercial Street and into the North End. When that new exit opens, the direct access from the Sumner to Cross Street in the North End will end.

In March 2003, the Sumner Tunnel was reduced from two lanes to a single lane in preparation for the opening of the I-93 northbound tunnel. Even after that opening, though, the Sumner remained at one lane for weeks, as Big Dig officials adjusted signs at the tunnel's exit.

One of the commuters interviewed yesterday conceded that traffic volume has dropped in the Sumner in the past several months, but said he thinks the elimination of a lane will still cause major headaches.

''I don't buy the comments that it's not going to go back up," said Jack Eagan, 42, who lives in Swampscott and works at the Raddisson Hotel downtown. ''For six months? It's just a matter of time."

Commuters interviewed said much of their frustration stemmed from the Big Dig project itself. A recent Boston Globe poll found that while 39 percent of 400 Boston residents surveyed said the project made it easier to get around, almost the same percentage said it wasn't worth the $14.6 billion cost.

In interviews yesterday by phone and e-mail, many commuters who use the Sumner Tunnel said they had thought the worst traffic snarls were over, only to be confronted by another change that will add time to their daily travels.

Big Dig spokesman Doug Hanchett said there are a number of changes ahead in the next year, including the completion of the underground connector from Storrow Drive to the Tobin Bridge and I-93 north, which will allow commuters to avoid the Leverett Connector. That work is expected to be completed in January 2005.

''Some of [the changes] will be a short-term inconvenience for people; others will be a clear improvement for folks on a permanent basis," he said.