Boston commuters find the drive not as bad as could be

BOSTON --Bob Jacobson commutes 60 miles into downtown Boston every day. After a Big Dig tunnel ceiling partially collapsed last week -- killing a motorist and forcing the closure of two connector tunnels -- he was prepared for the worst traffic jams.

"It's gotten easier," said Jacobson, who lives in Westport along the Rhode Island border. "It was bad the first day, but it's been progressively smooth since then."

Despite some detours and delays, many commuters who come in and through Boston via car, subway, train, bus and boat say it's not as bad as it could be.

In fact, some of the city's worst traffic tie-ups this week had nothing to do with the Big Dig. A heavily traveled section of Massachusetts Avenue, a main artery that stretches from Boston into neighboring Cambridge, remained closed Wednesday after work crews severed a water main in the city's South End and flooded the area Tuesday night.

That was followed by a tractor-trailer rollover on Interstate 90, which partially closed the road near Fenway Park, where the Red Sox had a rare weekday afternoon game.

A combination of factors may be contributing to the relatively light traffic. Many commuters seem to be heeding advice to avoid affected routes, change their work hours or work from home.

The July 10 collapse of 12 tons of ceiling panels in one of the Big Dig tunnels also happened at a time when many people are away on vacation and aren't around to further clog up the system -- and when the thousands of students from the area's colleges and universities are still on break.

The Big Dig buried the old Central Artery that used to slice through the city and created a series of tunnels to bring traffic underground. Although it's been considered an engineering marvel, the most expensive highway project in U.S. history also has also been plagued by leaks, falling debris, delays and other problems linked to faulty construction.

And after more than a decade of detours and traffic hassles, many commuters have grown accustomed to inconveniences.

Debbie Sheldon takes the subway about 5 miles between the Wonderland stop in Revere and downtown Boston. She's seen more riders on the train but hasn't had any trouble with crowds.

"I think people decided to bite the bullet and be calm about the whole thing because they can't change what's happening," Sheldon said. "It makes things easier if you don't get worked up."

Commuter rails and subway trains are reporting slightly heavier volume than typical summer weekdays, according to Joe Pesaturo, spokesman for the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority.

Pesaturo also said that ridership on the ferry from Quincy, on the South Shore, to Logan International Airport nearly quadrupled last week, from 235 passengers on an average weekday to more than 800 passengers.

People aren't just heading offshore to avoid the roads. Michelle Haynes, spokeswoman for Cape Air, which offers flights between Logan and Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, said the airline has had to add extra flights for passengers traveling between Hyannis and the airport.

"We're selling out," Haynes said. Most people normally drive the 70-mile trip between Hyannis and Logan airport, but the tunnel closures have prompted many to pay $250 for a round-trip plane ticket to get to or from Boston in 30 minutes.

The traffic on the ground hasn't changed as dramatically, according to Art Kinsman, spokesman for AAA of Southern New England.

"People don't seem all that fazed," Kinsman said.

Not everyone agrees.

Scott Gazelle, a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, said he hit heavy traffic even when he left his home in Hingham at 6 a.m. last week. Now he plans to take the ferry every day, because he says it takes one-third of the time it would take if he continued to drive.

"I was a big fan of the tunnel because we went through torture, and because it redefined Boston, but now it's fallen apart," Gazelle said.

Louray Barton drives across town from Brighton to Dorchester each morning to drop her daughter off at a regular medical appointment.

"It's horrendous out there," Barton said. Usually the drive takes her 18 minutes, but this week her commute time has more than doubled.

"Don't think that if you don't come to town, it doesn't affect you," she said. "If you drive a car it's affecting you."

But many drivers like Jacobson don't have any complaints. He likens his smooth-sailing commute to what happened in Boston when the Democratic National Convention was held in the city in 2004.

"Everyone expected the worst, so people made alternate plans, which resulted in an easier commute," said Jacobson.

"It's just human behavior," he said. "It's pack mentality behavior."