Despite closings, traffic is better than expected
It could have been far worse.
Despite some backups and hassles yesterday, the massive traffic jams feared during rush hour did not materialize, as many commuters used public transportation, came to work early, or wound their way through city streets to cope with the continued closing of the Interstate 90 connector and new shutdowns of ramps from the Ted Williams Tunnel to Interstate 93.
While some residents felt overrun by cars rerouted to neighborhood streets, most motorists were pleased that they were able to get where they were going with relatively few problems.
Still, motorists and transportation officials are bracing for a possible increase in congestion this week, and officials pointed out that Monday traffic is typically lighter during the summer than other weekdays.
Yesterday afternoon, Boston's acting transportation commissioner, Thomas J. Tinlin, was pleased as Congress Street, which carries cars detoured to the Callahan Tunnel, had traffic ``lighter than we could have hoped and expected."
But he cautioned that ``in transportation, it's easy to take a couple steps forward, but it's very easy to take 10 steps backwards."
The commute started unusually early, as many motorists sought to beat the rush. On I-93 south, cars backed up on the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge as early as 5:30 a.m. yesterday as congestion clogged the exit to the Callahan Tunnel, the only direct tunnel link to Logan Airport. But past the Callahan entrance on I-93 south, traffic was moving fairly smoothly.
The morning rush hour seemed to end early, as well. At 8:45 a.m., there was no traffic at Exit 23 off I-93 north near Government Center, the main detour to the Callahan Tunnel and Logan.
Around the South Boston Waterfront, where Ted Williams Tunnel traffic was diverted because of the clsoing of access to I-93, State Police and blinking yellow traffic lights lined the routes to I-93 and the westbound Pike.
``It's better than I had expected, but it's not surprising," said Jeff Larson, general manager of SmartRoute Systems Inc., the traffic monitoring firm. ``Maybe we're seeing people making changes in the way they commute, but I'm not terribly optimistic it's going to remain this good the entire week."
The MBTA said passenger volume on subways, ferries, and commuter trains was higher than on a typical summer weekday, though they could not provide numbers.
Logan Express buses from the outlying suburbs were able to reach an emergency onramp to the Ted Williams Tunnel eastbound yesterday, with service every 15 minutes during peak commutes, as well as a direct connection with Logan. The MBTA's Silver Line service has also benefitted from access to the emergency onramp and has almost exclusive use of the Ted Williams Tunnel to Logan.
Governor Mitt Romney has said that disruptions could last for a couple of months. The I-90 connector is shut down in both directions indefinitely.
However, Romney said yesterday that officials hope to have a ramp to the eastbound Ted Williams Tunnel at the end of the South Boston Bypass Road open to all traffic by the end of the weekend. Romney also said access from the Ted Williams Tunnel to I-93 north and south could resume the following weekend if work goes according to plan.
In addition, tolls continue to be waived at the mouth of the Ted Williams Tunnel from Logan.
Boston officials restricted parking yesterday to accommodate the heavier volume on North Washington Street and Atlantic Avenue. They also suspended construction work on the Moakley Bridge, creating a third lane for traffic to get to downtown or I-93 northbound.
But there were delays on the turnpike eastbound near the Allston-Brighton tolls, as drivers tried to reach Soldiers Field Road heading west in the morning. Drivers were also using Route 1 southbound in larger numbers, with the Tobin Bridge in the morning backed up and traffic on Route 16 and Route 1A heavier than usual. But commuters generally seemed pleased.
Bill Pierce, a cab driver in Boston for more than 35 years, expected the worst yesterday morning, after hearing about the additional shutdown. Between 7 and 8 a.m., he avoided the Ted Williams and Callahan tunnels by taking an arduous route across the Tobin Bridge to and from the airport.
But when he drove a reporter through the Williams tunnel eastbound around 8 a.m., he was surprised. ``People must have changed their plans," he said, ``or they're taking public transporation."
Lauren Regis, who works at a law firm near Government Center, said she arrived at her bus stop in Brookline half an hour early yesterday after reading about the new closure online Sunday night.
``I was shocked it was better this morning," she said of the traffic. ``Everyone seemed surprised."
Mac Daniel can be reached at mdaniel@globe.com. 