Road, transit projects raise gridlock worries

Several key roadways and transit lines will be under construction or partially closed for repairs this summer, just when the city's transportation system will be tested by thousands of visitors attending the Democratic National Convention.

City and state officials express confidence that the projects won't affect the convention, but the sheer number of them has others worried about gridlock.

Some 35,000 people are expected to descend on Boston for the party gathering, relying, in part, on the transportation system to get from hotels to the FleetCenter. At the same time, tens of thousands of daily commuters will also be trying to get around. Then, of course, there are the potential complications from motorcades.

Congestion and traffic jams led to bitter complaints during the Democratic convention in Los Angeles four years ago.

"We're not worried about gridlock," said James Gillooly, deputy commissioner for traffic management, engineering, and planning at the Boston Transportation Department. "This is a challenge we will rise up to. The city has always got a lot of activity going on, and these [projects] will be coordinated. It doesn't add up to a whole lot more than the Central Artery did at peak construction, and we still managed to have a thriving city."

The projects and detours range from the final construction stages of the Big Dig, to reduced service on the Orange and Green lines, to roadway and T station projects that were scheduled long ago.

They are in addition to the probable closing of North Station's commuter rail and subway facilities during the four days of the convention, which starts July 26, and the possible closure of Interstate 93 near the FleetCenter for a portion of the convention.

Concerns about the transportation system and Boston being a city still under repair are very much on the minds of convention planners, as the big event draws nearer.

Construction of the $14.6 billion Big Dig is set to be completed by spring 2005, but a major detour will begin later this month. Drivers on southbound I-93 will be squeezed into two temporary lanes at Dewey Square, so the tunnel there can be rebuilt.

A single lane will also be available for southbound I-93 traffic on the surface street in Chinatown. Big Dig officials anticipate that as a result of the detour, which will last 10 months, cars will slow down as drivers navigate the construction zone and potentially back up traffic to the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge.

A new tunnel under Leverett Circle linking Storrow Drive with I-93 and the Tobin Bridge is also still under construction and has caused massive backups in front of Massachusetts General Hospital and on the McGrath-O'Brien Highway in front of the Musuem of Science.

In addition, a 10-month project to replace the median of the Massachusetts Turnpike from the Allston-Brighton tolls to Route 128 has already started, which requires narrowing lanes and reducing speed limits, potentially backing up westbound turnpike traffic originating in Chinatown.

State highway officials, meanwhile, are racing to make sure that two other road projects are finished by the time of the DNC: the removal of an overpass at Sullivan Square and the reconstruction of Cambridge Street. The latter project has led to backups around Charles Circle at the foot of the Longfellow Bridge, exacerbated by the renovation of the Charles-MGH Red Line station there.

Meanwhile, commuters and visitors looking to avoid congestion and detours on the roadways may not find much relief on the T.

The Orange Line will be reduced to one track between Haymarket and Sullivan Square so workers can replace the aging signal system, an eight-month project that begins March 28. The Green Line will be shut down at North Station some time this summer to complete the $325 million track relocation project under the FleetCenter. Riders will have to take buses between North Station and Lechmere and between Haymarket station and Lechmere, most probably during the four days of the convention, because North Station could be entirely shut down for subway and commuter rail for security reasons.

Wig Zamore, a member of the Somerville Transit Equity Partnership, said that between 12,000 and 15,000 people per day will have to board shuttle buses at Lechmere and Science Park to get downtown. That means hundreds of buses on the McGrath-O'Brien Highway jockeying to get through Leverett Circle to downtown Boston.

"What will the total congestion and trip delays add up to?" he asked. "It sure seems like it will be very hard to move northwest from Boston and back for a while."

MBTA General Manager Michael Mulhern said, "We're going to make this as painless as possible." Because the "roadway network will be snarled with traffic" during the DNC, he said, "we will be putting our best foot forward, so people view mass transit as a good choice to get around Boston."

Putting riders on buses during the Green Line relocation project is necessary, Mulhern said, and the T is working on a plan to run those buses in the most efficient way, possibly by including runs to the Red Line station at Kendall Square. The Red Line will be unaffected by the work.

The Orange Line work will occur only after 9 p.m. and will conclude before the morning rush hour, Mulhern said. Workers will only be given access to the tracks after the T shuts down after midnight during the DNC.

"We're the oldest subway system in the country, and these are finishing touches on major investments in the subway system to upgrade and modernize," Mulhern said. "There will be some passenger inconveniences. We ask for people's understanding."

Jon Carlisle, spokesman for state transportation secretary Daniel Grabauskas, promised that any projects under state jurisdiction, whether the Sullivan Square overpass or the reconstruction of Cambridge Street, will be finished or halted during the DNC.

Observers remain skeptical that those projects will be completed by July 26, when the convention starts. Both projects are already behind schedule.

"Transportation projects administered by the MBTA and Mass. Highway will not impede conventioneers in July," Carlisle said. "We have worked closely with the city of Boston and other stakeholders to ensure that all of our ongoing transportation enhancements are buttoned up and unobtrusive to the DNC activities."

Anthony Flint can be reached at flint@globe.com.