The new northbound Central Artery tunnel, which opened to traffic on Saturday night, is getting its first big test today as it handles the full onslaught of the weekday morning commute. Tell us about your experience driving through the tunnel. Could you find your way? How was traffic moving? Do you think the new highway will cut down on traffic jams downtown?   Complete Big Dig coverage

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This was the FIRST weekend that people could drive in the new artery and people thought it was going to be faster today?!? It will take a couple of weeks for people to become accustomed to the new exits and get over the awe of driving over the new bridge. Until then, be patient.

Ann, Somerville

The new tunnel?? Its grrrrrrrrrrreat!

Tony "the tiger" Clark, Boston

AWESOME! I was hesitant about driving in this morning but left early enough in case of expected traffic. The tunnel is amazing, VERY easy to navigate through. Those who say it is difficult or get lost, I blame them for not following directions. Radio stations, TV, newspapers - they all spell out which exits you need in order to get where you're going. The tunnels themselves have very clearly marked signs. Good job!

Jodi, Boston

was this really worth my tax dollars?

Roger , Winthrop, MA

People need to stop whining about the $12 bil we all dropped on this project and learn a little about something before they trash it. What, there's still traffic? OF COURSE. It's called a city, it's called rush hour. Everyone's got them, and the Big Dig never promised everyone they could zip through Boston in their beaters at 80mph at all hours. Why didn't they connect the decks with the tunnel? Because not even mathematical topologists could figure out how to make that work, to say nothing of the fact that the big, rusty elevated freeway WOULD STILL BE THERE. (Oh, it's still there now, you say? that's because the project is still UNDER CONSTRUCTION. Meaning it's not done.) There aren't enough exits and onramps in Boston? That was the problem in the first place, the fact that they were trying to build something with the speed of I-95 on a weekend and the access of Massachusetts Avenue. The ramps are what made it slow, lest anyone forget the tunnel/causeway street confluence on the North side and the dock square onramp on the south. And let's all forget about how "no major american cities have only one freeway". No kidding, but people in Hyde Park, Roxbury and Roslindale and Cambridge decided years ago that they didn't want I-95 flying through their neighborhoods (or have you ever wondered why I-95 in Canton just seems to "stop" at rte. 128?). Right or wrong, some people made that decision and right or wrong we're living with it today; one major freeway through the city with a few perennially clogged access roads like Memorial Drive, Storrow and Mass Ave. You can't have it both ways - no traffic and total access to the city, no freeways and ease in getting around. People need to decide what they want more. In the meantime, give the guys on the Dig a chance to finish the project before you verbally tear it down. Yeah, a lot of money went into this project, but a lot of hard work did too.

Bryan, Cambridge

Someday, I will be able to tell my children and grandchildren that I was able to ride in the world's first multi-billion dollar traffic jam. This is up there in diappointments with Buckner in '86. Not good news, bad news.

Dan B, Weymouth

As an afficianado of the big dig, I was thrilled to finally get a chance to drive through on Sunday. Engineering wise, this tunnel is a marvel. The only issue I see is that the bottlenecks along 93N approaching the city still exist - the new CA does not appear to solve any of these problems. I will say that to get to South Bay I now find it faster to continue on to Storrow Drive and cut back then to get off at Frontage Road. And for Claire, if it wasn't for the commuters coming into Boston, it wouldn't be a city, and you'd be driving somewhere else to work! Boston would be the equivilant of Waltham! And we'd gladly take public transportation if they would just finish the Greenbush line.....

Dave, Scituate, MA

For 14 billion we get the same three lanes going thru the city (a forth added in side the tunnel and merging from the left, brilliant). Also what genius designed a lefthand exit to the Tobin so traffic can slow down on the bridge. I went through ~Noon Sunday. 10-15 mins. to get into the tunnel and 10 mins. to come out the otherside. By my estimates that's 9 mph!!!!!

R Hanlon, Haverhill

They wanted to depress the roadway and it's depressing all right. The first drive-through was very disappointing and isn't any better than the old route. The ride from Braintree to the start of the new road took from 9:15 until 10:15 on Monday morning and the traffic exiting the new tunnel at Government Center was backed up into the travel lanes.

Tom , Braintree

Boy, some people can't wait to complain! You have to bear in mind that traffic was tied up Sunday by morons who were slowing down to stop to take a picture of the entrance to both the tunnel and bridge from their cars! That's why all those fender benders occurred. The tunnel worked for me fine during rush hour Monday...I got to work 20 minutes faster. As long as people stay to the left to go through the city and stay right to get off locally, things should be fine...fewer off- and on-ramps alleviate the flow because people trying to get off don't have to merge with people just getting on. Don't forget how small a town downtown Boston is in terms of area too..no matter how sophisticated the design of the off-ramps, the surface streets they lead to can only handle so much traffic...it's always been this way. Take exit 20 to get to downtown instead of the Government Center exit. Hardly anyone was using it today!

Dave, South Boston