Rumble strips shrink Route 3 south
The breakdown lanes that turn into active lanes during rush hours are dangerous enough. But early last week on Route 3 south in Hingham, for some reason a state contractor cut rumble strips into a portion of this pseudo-lane.
''As if the lane weren't narrow enough, now it's like threading a needle at 60 miles per hour," wrote Brian of Weymouth. ''Who? Why?"
Matthew of Hingham said the change took place early last week. The result was gridlock at the already miserable lane drop near the Derby Street exit. It was bad Monday and Tuesday.
And ''because I stayed out later than normal on Wednesday to catch the Sox . . . I thought I was in the clear," Matthew wrote. ''What I got instead, at 11 p.m., was Friday-afternoon-in-the-summer-like traffic. I am talking dead-stopped because there was a resurfacing crew working between the lane drop and Exit 15. The best part? Apparently they needed the breakdown lane AND the righthand lane to work. That's three lanes of traffic down to one.
''So they screwed up and ruined three days worth of commutes, then made lots of people late on Wednesday fixing their mistake. Who pays for all of that?"
Jon Carlisle, spokesman for the Massachusetts Highway Department, had two words in response: ''Contractor error."
The contractor was digging rumble strips on the side of Route 3 and mistakenly extended them a half mile into the active breakdown lane. (A rumble strip, by the way, is a strip of bumpy pavement that, when driven over, causes a rumble in the tires to let drivers audibly know they have strayed over a line, etc.)
''. . .which obviously should not have happened," Carlisle said. The next day, the contractor went back to right the wrong, and Matthew of Hingham got stuck in late-night traffic.
The rumble strip contract is $146,000, but Carlisle assured us that the contractor would foot the bill for the wayward repairs.
The advice of babes
We have a soft spot for inquisitive 3-year-olds, so the following from Pat of South Boston gets some ink.
''My 3-year-old grandson was sitting in his car seat. We had just gone on to the Mass. Pike west, after crossing Broadway Bridge. He says to his mother, 'Mommy, why are we going round and round and round and round?'
''I had to laugh out loud at this comment from a child. Whoever designed this entrance could use the advice of a 3-year-old. When we do go on the Mass. Pike from Southie, we are dizzy by the time we are on a straight path. It was very funny, the wisdom coming from my grandson, Danny. Maybe he will be an engineer someday!"
Quirks on the T
Anne of Cambridge recently had knee surgery and discovered a strange MBTA quirk when trying to find the elevator from the Red Line platform at Park Street.
Coming in from Alewife, she got off on the platform to the right only to discover that the elevator is on the middle platform. There are no signs, and there was no announcement, so Anne and about six people in wheelchairs had to wait for the next train as they made their way to volunteer at the Walk for Hunger.
Once the train arrived, Anne and her isolated peers went on to the train and got out the other side, on to elevator island.
But that wasn't all. On her return trip, Anne came down the Tremont Street elevator, only to find herself trapped in a cage-like area.
''You have to beg the attendant through the intercom to let you out!" she wrote. ''She keeps saying, 'Put your token in the slot.'
But Anne didn't have a token. She's a senior, and her fare is 35 cents -- not $1.25. Anne stuck to her guns and put 35 cents in the box, and eventually the T attendant let her out of the cage.
''This has happened several times," she wrote. ''The last time [the attendant] insisted that next time I had to put in a token -- which I never have since my fare is 35 cents! Please do whatever you can to remedy this ridiculous situation. I now have some idea what permanently disabled people go through all the time."
Joe Pesaturo, MBTA spokesman, said the train crews are supposed to make announcements about the location of the elevator at Park Street. As of Friday, the T was reissuing instructions to crews to make the announcement.
But Pesaturo was less helpful on the token versus 35 cents. ''Currently you can only use a token or pass to gain access to the area," he said, adding that the addition of automated fare collection at Park Street will fix the problem next year.
Pit stops
Starting next Sunday, Oct. 16, bus shuttles will run between Haymarket and Oak Grove on the Orange Line thanks to ongoing signal work. The shuttles will run from 9 p.m. to the end of service at 1 a.m. next Sunday through Thursday, Oct. 20. This diversion will continue through the end of November. Commuter rail from North Station will stop at Malden and Oak Grove stations while the shuttles are running. Whenever the TD Banknorth Garden has a Bruins or Celtics game, the shuttles will start at 11 p.m., not 9 p.m. During concerts at the Garden, the Orange Line will run as normal.
Can't get there. . .
Reminder: The exit ramp from Interstate 93 south to Government Center is down to one lane at all hours.
I-93 south over the Charles River will close 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. Tuesday through Friday morning and 1 to 6:30 a.m. Saturday. The onramps to I-93 south from Storrow Drive, the Tobin Bridge, City Square, and downtown will also close.
The Haymarket onramp to I-93 south and the Callahan Tunnel will close 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 p.m. Friday to 6:30 a.m. Saturday.
The Essex Street onramp to I-93 south will close 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday.
The Storrow Drive onramp to I-93 south will close 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday morning.
I-93 north at Exit 20 will close 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. Tuesday through Friday morning and 1 to 6:30 a.m. Saturday. The ramps at Exit 20 to the Pike, and the onramps to I-93 north at Massachusetts Avenue and at the Broadway Bridge, will also close.
The ramps at Exit 20 (Logan/Pike) from I-93 north to the Pike will close 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Tuesday through Friday morning and 10 p.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Saturday. The left-hand ramp from Exit 20 to Frontage Road northbound and South Station will remain open.
The Essex Street onramp to I-93 north will close 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Tuesday through Friday morning and 11 p.m. Friday to 6:30 a.m. Saturday.
Exit 26 (Storrow Drive) off I-93 north will close 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Tuesday through Friday.
The Atlantic Avenue onramp to I-93 north will close 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 11 p.m. Friday to 6:30 a.m. Saturday.
The underpass from Storrow Drive east to I-93 north and the Tobin Bridge will close 12:01 to 5 a.m. Tuesday through Friday and 1 to 6 a.m. Saturday.
The Haymarket onramp to I-93 north will close 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 1 to 5 a.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 1 to 6:30 a.m. Saturday.
The Sumner Tunnel onramp to I-93 north will close 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 12:01 to 5 a.m. Wednesday through Friday, and 12:01 to 7 a.m. Saturday.
strong>The Sumner Tunnel onramp to Storrow Drive will close 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 12:01 to 5 a.m. Wednesday through Friday and 12:01 to 7 a.m. Saturday.
The Pike east between Exit 22 (Pru/Copley) and South Boston will close 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Tuesday through Friday morning and 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. Friday through next Sunday morning. Direct access to the Ted Williams Tunnel from Frontage Road and South Boston will remain open.
The Pike west from South Boston will close 12:01 to 5 a.m. Tuesday through Friday and 12:01 to 7 a.m. Saturday and next Sunday. The onramp to the Pike west from D Street will also close.
The Frontage Road northbound onramp to the Pike west at the Broadway Bridge will close 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Tuesday through Friday morning and 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Friday through next Sunday morning.
The onramp from Congress Street to I-93 in South Boston, and Exit 24 from the Pike west to I-93 will close 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. Tuesday through Friday morning and 1 to 6 a.m. Saturday.
Route 1A south near Logan will close 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday through Wednesday.
Complain to us at starts@globe.com. Don't forget to send us your hometown. Outside the paper, the column can be found at www.boston.com/news/local/startsandstops/. Our mailing address is Starts & Stops, P.O. Box 55819, Boston, MA 02205-5819.
