This article needs additional citations for verification .(December 2009) |
Overview | |
---|---|
Location | Boston, Massachusetts |
Status | Open |
Route | Route 1A south |
Start | East Boston |
End | Downtown Boston |
Operation | |
Constructed | March 30, 1931 – June 30, 1934 |
Opened | June 30, 1934 |
Owner | Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
Operator | Massachusetts Department of Transportation |
Traffic | Automotive |
Toll | Between $0.20 and $2.05 depending on payment method and residency [1] |
Technical | |
Length | 1.079 mi (1.736 km) |
No. of lanes | 2 |
Operating speed | 40 mph (64 km/h) |
Tunnel clearance | 12.6 ft (3.8 m) |
Width | 22.2 ft (6.8 m) |
The Sumner Tunnel is a road tunnel in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It carries traffic under Boston Harbor in one direction, from Logan International Airport and Route 1A in East Boston. The tunnel originally deposited traffic at the west side of the North End, but with the completion of the Big Dig, it was modified to have two exits. One exit connects to I-93 northbound and downtown Boston (Government Center) near Haymarket Station. The other exit connects to Storrow Drive and Nashua St., connecting Cambridge via Route 28. Traffic headed for I-93 southbound and the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90) westbound is normally routed to the Ted Williams Tunnel. It is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. [2]
The Sumner Tunnel was opened on June 30, 1934. It carried traffic in both directions until the opening of the parallel Callahan Tunnel in 1961. The Sumner Tunnel is named for William H. Sumner, the son of Governor Increase Sumner. [3]
Until 2009, it was managed by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, when it was transferred to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. [2]
As of 2016 [update] , a toll of $1.50 is charged for non-commercial two-axle vehicles with a Massachusetts E-ZPass, while non-Massachusetts E-ZPass holders are charged $1.75. Vehicles without E-ZPass are charged $2.05 through MassDOT's Pay by Plate MA program. For residents of certain Boston ZIP Codes, a discount is in effect using an E-ZPass transponder, costing $0.20. On November 14, 2008, the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority voted in favor of a proposed toll hike which would double the toll to $7.00 for non-commercial vehicles (at the time, the toll was $3.50 in the southbound direction only). E-ZPass users would receive a $1.00 discount and commercial vehicles would end up having to pay $9.00. This vote was later rescinded following a vote approving a 1.25% sales tax increase.
In 2016, cashless tolling systems were installed in both directions, entering the Sumner Tunnel and exiting the Callahan Tunnel as part of a plan to modernize toll collection in the Boston area. [4]
The tunnel has been shut intermittently for modernization from summer 2022 through summer 2024. It will be fully closed from July 5 and August 5, 2024, and on weekends from August 9 through November 15, except for August 30 and October 11. [5] [6]
The Big Dig was a megaproject in Boston that rerouted the then elevated Central Artery of Interstate 93 that cut across Boston into the O'Neill Tunnel and built the Ted Williams Tunnel to extend Interstate 90 to Logan International Airport. Those two projects were the origin of the official name, the Central Artery/Tunnel Project. Additionally, the project constructed the Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge over the Charles River, created the Rose Kennedy Greenway in the space vacated by the previous I-93 elevated roadway, and funded more than a dozen projects to improve the region's public transportation system. Planning for the project began in 1982; the construction work was carried out between 1991 and 2006; and the project concluded on December 31, 2007. The project's general contractor was Bechtel and Parsons Brinckerhoff was the engineer, who worked as a consortium, both overseen by the Massachusetts Highway Department.
The New Jersey Turnpike (NJTP) is a system of controlled-access highways in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The turnpike is maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA). The 117.20-mile (188.62 km) mainline's southern terminus is at the Delaware Memorial Bridge on I-295 in Pennsville Township. Its northern terminus is at an interchange with I-80 and US 46 in Ridgefield Park. Construction of the mainline from concept to completion took 22 months, from 1950 to 1951. It was opened to traffic on November 5, 1951, between its southern terminus and exit 10.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike, sometimes shortened to Penna Turnpike or PA Turnpike, is a controlled-access toll road that is operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the United States. It runs for 360 miles (580 km) across the state, connecting Pittsburgh in Western Pennsylvania with Philadelphia in eastern Pennsylvania, and passes through four tunnels as it crosses the Appalachian Mountains in central Pennsylvania.
Interstate 93 (I-93) is an Interstate Highway in the New England states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont in the United States. Spanning approximately 190 miles (310 km) along a north–south axis, it is one of three primary Interstate Highways located entirely within New England; the other two are I-89 and I-91. The largest cities along the route are Boston, Massachusetts, and Manchester, New Hampshire; it also travels through the New Hampshire state capital of Concord.
The Massachusetts Turnpike is a controlled-access toll highway in the US state of Massachusetts that is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). It is concurrent with the entirety of Interstate 90 (I-90) within the state, and is the longest Interstate Highway in Massachusetts, spanning 138 miles (222 km) along an east–west axis.
E-ZPass is an electronic toll collection system used on toll roads, toll bridges, and toll tunnels in the Eastern United States, Midwestern United States, and Southern United States. The E-ZPass Interagency Group (IAG) consists of member agencies in several states, which use the same technology and allow travelers to use the same transponder on toll roads throughout the network.
The New York State Thruway is a system of controlled-access toll roads spanning 569.83 miles (917.05 km) within the U.S. state of New York. It is operated by the New York State Thruway Authority (NYSTA), a New York State public-benefit corporation. The 496.00-mile (798.23 km) mainline is a freeway that extends from the New York City line at Yonkers to the Pennsylvania state line at Ripley by way of I-87 and I-90 through Albany, Syracuse, and Buffalo. According to the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, the Thruway is the fifth-busiest toll road in the United States. The toll road is also a major route for long distance travelers linking the cities of Toronto and Buffalo with Boston and New York City.
The Maurice J. Tobin Memorial Bridge is a cantilever truss bridge that spans more than two miles (3.2 km) from Boston to Chelsea over the Mystic River in Massachusetts. The bridge is the largest in New England. It is operated by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and carries U.S. Route 1. It was built between 1948 and 1950 and opened to traffic on February 2, 1950, replacing the former Chelsea Bridge. The 36-foot (11 m)-wide roadway has three lanes of traffic on each of the two levels with northbound traffic on the lower level and southbound traffic on the upper level.
The Ted Williams Tunnel is a highway tunnel in Boston, Massachusetts. The third in the city to travel under Boston Harbor, with the Sumner Tunnel and the Callahan Tunnel, it carries the final segment of Interstate 90 from South Boston towards its eastern terminus at Route 1A in East Boston, slightly beyond Logan International Airport. The tunnel is named after the Boston Red Sox baseball legend Ted Williams.
The Lieutenant William F. Callahan Jr. Tunnel is one of four tunnels, and one of three road tunnels, beneath Boston Harbor in Boston, Massachusetts. It carries motor vehicles from the North End to Logan International Airport and Route 1A in East Boston. Ordinarily, this tunnel is only used to carry traffic out of the city, and with the completion of the Big Dig it only collects traffic from I-93 southbound and downtown Boston; northbound traffic uses the Ted Williams Tunnel. As of 2016, a toll of $1.50 is charged for non-commercial two-axle vehicles with a Massachusetts E-ZPass, while non-Massachusetts E-ZPass holders are charged $1.75. Vehicles without E-ZPass are charged $2.05 through MassDOT's Pay By Plate MA program. For residents of certain Boston ZIP codes, a discount is in effect using an E-ZPass transponder, costing $0.20.
Fast Lane was the original branding for the electronic toll collection system used on toll roads in Massachusetts, including the Massachusetts Turnpike, Sumner Tunnel, Ted Williams Tunnel, and Tobin Bridge. It was introduced in 1998, and later folded into the E-ZPass branding in 2012. Fast Lane transponders were fully interoperable with member agencies of the E-ZPass Interagency Group, however Fast Lane transponders afford users discounted tolls in some junctions that out-of-state users are not offered.
The Spaulding Turnpike is a 33.2-mile (53.4 km) controlled-access toll road in eastern New Hampshire. Nearly its entire length is overlapped by New Hampshire Route 16. Its southern terminus is at the Portsmouth Traffic Circle in Portsmouth, a terminus it shares with U.S. Route 4 and NH 16. Its northern terminus is at an interchange with New Hampshire Route 125 in Milton, where NH 16 continues north as a surface road.
Interstate 476 (I-476) is a 132.1-mile (212.6 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway of I-76 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The highway runs from I-95 near Chester north to I-81 near Scranton, serving as the primary north–south Interstate corridor through eastern Pennsylvania. It consists of both the 20-mile (32 km) Mid-County Expressway, locally referred to as the "Blue Route", through Delaware and Montgomery counties in the suburban Philadelphia area, and the tolled, 110.6-mile (178.0 km) Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, which connects the Delaware Valley with the Lehigh Valley, the Pocono Mountains, and the Wyoming Valley to the north.
The Central Artery is a section of freeway in downtown Boston, Massachusetts; it is designated as Interstate 93, US 1 and Route 3.
The Frederick E. Everett Turnpike, also called the Central New Hampshire Turnpike, is a controlled-access toll road in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, running 44 miles (71 km) from the Massachusetts border at Nashua north to Concord. The Everett Turnpike is named for Frederick Elwin Everett, the first commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Transportation.
Open road tolling (ORT), also called all-electronic tolling, cashless tolling, or free-flow tolling, is the collection of tolls on toll roads without the use of toll booths. An electronic toll collection system is usually used instead. The major advantage to ORT is that users are able to drive through the toll plaza at highway speeds without having to slow down to pay the toll. In some installations, ORT may also reduce congestion at the plazas by allowing more vehicles per hour/per lane.
Interstate 95 (I-95) is an Interstate Highway on the east coast of the United States, connecting Florida to Maine. Within the state of New Hampshire, it serves the Seacoast Region and is a toll road named the Blue Star Turnpike or New Hampshire Turnpike. The 16.11-mile (25.93 km) turnpike is maintained by the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) Bureau of Turnpikes and has a single toll plaza near Hampton.
The Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill Jr. Tunnel is a highway tunnel built as part of the Big Dig in Boston, Massachusetts. It carries the Central Artery underneath downtown Boston, and is numbered as Interstate 93 (I-93), U.S. Route 1 (US 1), and Route 3. It roughly follows the route of the old elevated Central Artery, though the northbound entrance, at the corner of Kneeland Street and Atlantic Avenue, is somewhat east of the southbound exit to allow for a reconfigured interchange with the Massachusetts Turnpike. It runs from the Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge at its north portal—barely 165 feet (50 m) east of the TD Garden sports facility's eastern corner—to Boston's Chinatown at its south portal. The tunnel is named for Tip O'Neill, former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, whose constituency included several of the surrounding communities in Metro Boston.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) oversees roads, public transit, aeronautics, and transportation licensing and registration in the US state of Massachusetts. It was created on November 1, 2009, by the 186th Session of the Massachusetts General Court upon enactment of the 2009 Transportation Reform Act.
U.S. Route 301 (US 301) is a US Highway running from Sarasota, Florida, north to Biddles Corner, Delaware. In the state of Delaware, the route runs 11.9 mi (19.2 km) across New Castle County from the Maryland state line southwest of Middletown northeast to its northern terminus at the Delaware Route 1 (DE 1) freeway in Biddles Corner, just south of the Senator William V. Roth Jr. Bridge that carries DE 1 over the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal in St. Georges. US 301 in Delaware is a controlled-access toll road that is designated as the First Responders Memorial Highway. The freeway has interchanges with DE 299 west of Middletown, DE 71 north of Middletown, and Jamison Corner Road, and uses all-electronic tolling, with tolls paid by E-ZPass or toll-by-plate. A mainline toll gantry is located north of the Maryland state line while there are ramp tolls on the southbound exits and northbound entrances at the three interchanges.