Ted Williams/90 Connector
I drive to Logan airport about 1 or 2 times a week. Sometimes I go there 3 or 4 times in a week, other times never, but on average it's probably twice a week. I live just south of the city so I take 93 to the connector, which is a tunnel, that goes above ground momentarily then goes back down to the Ted Williams, a fairly new tunnel that connects South Boston to the land mass across the harbor where the airport is.
I flew home from a trip last night around 8 and drove home around 8:15. This morning I got up and left my house at 6AM for the reverse drive that I did about 10 hours earlier. I got on 93 for my 15 minute commute and realized something was wrong. The electronic signs on 93 were flashing a message that 90 east to Logan were shut down. I am pretty tuned in to road closings for construction and hadn't heard of it. And to be honest, I didn't watch the news last night or this morning. Yesterday was our anniversary so when I got home we had sushi for dinner and then I went to bed. So I turned on 1030 and realized what happened.
A section of the tunnel collapsed. It was on the way to Logan, the same route I take in the mornings when going to work. And it collapsed last night around 11PM, way after I had headed in the opposite direction.
So I was in kind of a pickle. I leave for Logan with not a ton of room to spare. When I leave at 6, I often just make or just miss the 6:30, then relax for a few minutes and line up for the 7:30, which starts to form a line around 6:45. We board at 7 and off we go at 7:30. The news said they were directing all traffic to the only other easy way to Logan, the Callahan tunnel. But me, being smart like a fox, thought that I would get around it. But for some crazy reason me, being less like a fox and more like a jackass, didn't listen close enough to the radio. I thought they said the connector was down but not the Ted Williams, which you can get on in South Boston and head to the airport. So I got off 93 and headed down Morrisey BLVD. I know the area pretty well and within 10 minutes was sitting in my truck in South Boston in front of the entrance to the Ted Williams, blocked by state troopers. I turned the news back on and realized they shut down the Williams as well. Crap.
So I thought about the mess that would be the way to the other tunnel and gave up. My meeting was not critical enough to be there in person so I called my colleague in NY and told him we would do it over the phone. I headed home, watched insane traffic on the way north TO the city, listened to the madness of traffic heading in from all directions, and decided to work at home.
They said that the connector and the Ted Williams will be closed for a day or more. Not good for me and thousands of others who head to Logan on a regular basis. I have a must-go trip on Friday to NJ so I hope life is back to normal by then.
Just thought I'd share.