Headaches return in North End, S. Boston

Maria Martignetti has had a front-row seat on the roar of Big Dig construction for nearly a decade, from cement mixing to the dismantling of the elevated highway. Yesterday, she was appalled all over again, as traffic, rerouted from closed Big Dig tunnels, crawled by her North End window. ``It makes me sick," said Martignetti, 72, motioning toward Cross Street. ``It's terrible."

In recent days, the North End and South Boston, neighborhoods that endured for years the upheaval caused by construction of the nation's biggest public works project, took on the burden again, as thousands of vehicles diverted from the tunnels choked surface streets.

As Governor Mitt Romney outlined plans for weeks and possibly months of repairs to make the tunnels safe after last week's collapse of 12 tons of concrete panels, local officials were seething.

``I'm frustrated and disappointed, especially for the neighborhoods that abut the project," said Councilor Salvatore LaMattina of East Boston. ``Finally, we think we see the completion, the end of the project, and something like this happens."

Thousands live or work near the network of tunnels depicted by a virtual spaghetti of multicolored lines on the downtown maps ubiquitous during the past week as Big Dig officials described road closings and detours. Condo owners near the Fort Point Channel and small businesses in East Boston and the North End say they are already feeling the effects.

At Martignetti Liquors on the corner of Hanover and Cross streets, manager Debra Meyer said she has been watching ``trucks full of muck drive out of here since the mid-'90s," and now she's dealing with a measurable drop-off in business because of the detours. ``People are avoiding the area," she said.

Across the street, Mother Anna's restaurant opened the patio the day before the collapse, hoping to capitalize on the expansive vista created when the Big Dig rerouted traffic from the elevated artery into underground tunnels. Now, diners are dealing with exhaust fumes and the rumble of traffic.

Owner John Caparella said he is trying to keep things in perspective, considering that a Jamaica Plain woman died in the tunnel collapse. ``There's a lot worse things in life than my patio seeing worse traffic," he said.

In South Boston, where the latest closure reroutes drivers along Congress Street and the Bypass Road, most of the area is lined with commercial buildings, but artist residences and luxury lofts lie a few blocks away along A Street. April Martin, who recently moved into one of the new Channel Center historic lofts overlooking downtown, said rush hour traffic has clogged the streets even more since the tunnel accident.

``It's frustrating not knowing what's going to happen next and how they're going to alleviate the congestion," she said.

Local businesses have been affected as commuters rearrange schedules to steer clear of rush hour, said Eddie Firman, manager of Blue Wave, an upscale restaurant and bar on Congress Street.

``We've lost a lot of the after-work crowd, because people are leaving early to avoid traffic," he said.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino said police are monitoring nearly 50 intersections in the city, trying to move traffic along, and he said his administration has been in constant contact with state officials during a ``very difficult time in our city's history."

``This is something no one foresaw," he said. ``We've got to continue to work and be vigilant."

City transportation officials said that the detours are causing inconveniences and backups, but that traffic flowed more smoothly yesterday than expected. ``Any time you take a 5-gallon bucket and pour 10 gallons of water in it, you are going to have problems," Acting Transportation Commissioner Thomas J. Tinlin said.

For residents and businessowners in East Boston, the closings and detours hark back to the era before the Ted Williams Tunnel, when few people made a quick trip to the neighborhood for dinner. They worry that prolonged tunnel closings and detours will make East Boston more isolated and discourage potential customers from frequenting neighborhood businesses.

``You would want to go somewhere easier to get to," said Francisco Perlera, who opened Restaurante El Buen Gusto last year in Day Square. He wants to get the word out that traveling to East Boston is doable, just not during rush hours.

``That's the main idea, to educate the customers now, they still can come," said Perlera, whose carne asada drew customers before last week. ``It's not too much hassle at lunchtime and afterhours."

At least one North End business has benefited from the detours. At Joe Tecce's Ristorante, General Manager Janice Williams said she had several drivers come in for dinner to escape the traffic outside.

She says she might even consider offering gridlock specials.

``If the regular customers can't get here," she said, ``we might as well go after the ones that are sitting out there."

Donovan Slack can be reached at dslack@globe.com.