I'm amazed at how little fanfare there's been about this. As of March 28, we'll be able to drive all the way under downtown Boston and over the new Zakim bridge on the new I-93 north! For any dorks like me who are actually really interested in this whole thing, the Big Dig website has downloadable "virtual tours" that take you through each tunnel. They're not exactly edge of your seat excitement, but still kind of cool. I found myself wishing I could steer, and maybe launch some grenades.

Can't wait to drive over that bridge! It's going to be really cool lit up at night.

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2003 Cooper, Borla exhaust, Moss intake, Magnecor plug wires - Brookline, MA

 

Wow! That's really exciting news! I'll be in Boston next month for the marathon. Do you think I can fit my MINI in my carry-on bag? I'd love to motor thru there!

Kecia

 

>>I'm amazed at how little fanfare there's been about this. As of March 28, we'll be able to drive all the way under downtown Boston and over the new Zakim bridge on the new I-93 north! For any dorks like me who are actually really interested in this whole thng, the Big Dig website has downloadable "virtual tours" that take you through each tunnel. They're not exactly edge of your seat excitement, but still kind of cool. I found myself wishing I could steer, and maybe launch some grenades.
>>
>>Can't wait to drive over that bridge! It's going to be really cool lit up at night.
>>

if i can figure out how to get downtown without ending up at the airport from the pike, then I will throw a party!

 

>>Wow! That's really exciting news! I'll be in Boston next month for the marathon. Do you think I can fit my MINI in my carry-on bag? I'd love to motor thru there!
>>
>>Kecia

Sure you can, but just check it at the gate. I don't think it will make it through the metal detector as a carry on.

 

Pretty cool movies... the guy who's driving us through there can't seem to stay in a lane, though. Looks like a DUI POV.

 

This is really good news! I'm still bummed that they didn't include a public transortation link (subway) between north and south stations with the dig but this should clear up the air down town. The new extenion tubes for I-90 are nice!!!

 

Here's a little background on Leonard Zakim to fill you in.

Peace.

 

Thank you, jsun... NPR had a wonderul piece on this the other day.. I was searching the web for some info :smile:

 

By the way, the opening date is now March 30th. Anyone want to guess what the actual date will be (remember the turnpike extension)?

 

I have a friend who works for them.
Nobody wants to finish it. Job security.
Maybe somebody up there can tell the
story about all the dirt....and the murder/accident??
associated with it. That was some pretty expensive
dirt they took out of there.

 

Everyone,
Just a heads up that YellowCooper's account appears to have been hijacked and the inflammatory comments that were posted appeared to have been done sone by someone just looking to elicit a response from everyone. We're looking into this issue now. Thanks!

Mark

 

My favorite thing about all of the descriptions of the project's advantages was when they projected something to the effect of "In the year 2020, the new roadway will still not have reached it's capacity of XXX,000 cars per day, and traffic at rush hour will move non-stop at a speed of approximately 15 mph." Those weren't the actual numbers, but that was the confident tone of the statement. Does anyone really think they can actually predict this stuff?

At some point I saw a show (I think it was that science show with Alan Alda) where they were modeling traffic flow for the Big Dig, and one of the things that they did was to have a computer observe actual Boston driving via camera in order to model as accurately as possible. So when they put together their model, where individual cars were represented by moving dots, you could see the dots cutting each other off, forcing themselves into lanes, etc.

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2003 Cooper, Borla exhaust, Moss intake, Magnecor plug wires - Brookline, MA

 

I'm just hoping that the next time I have to get to Peabody on a week day from the Cape I won't have to leave at 4:30 a.m. to make it there for 7:30 a.m.

I suppose there will still be delays from the Braintree split up to the new tunnel.

Can you imagine open space in Boston?! The Mass Horticultural Society was supposed to get a good chunk of new land where the old x-way is to build gardens/green space. Unfortunately they have been so mismanaged that they are out of money.

 

OMG! Little angry swarming Boston-driving dots. That's brilliant.

(I'd love to watch those free-wheeling dots do a rotary!)

 

Anyone go through the new tunnel today and over the bridge?

 

GAA!! Tunnel is finally open, and I can't drive my MINI. I had surgery on a broken finger on Friday (it was healing in a misaligned fashion), so I have a big, boxing-glove-style cast on my left hand right now. Luckily I still walk to work for a few more weeks before I actually need the car to commute.

Looks like there are going to be some initial delays until people figure out what the heck they're doing!

Speed limit in the tunnel 45 mph, eh? I suppose they'll have some fancy-schmancy radar-controlled cameras issuing speeding tickets via the mail? Or maybe the cameras will snap a pic of your license plate, print the ticket, and stuff it into a little guided magnetic rocket that will fly after you and attach to your car *CLANK*?

I think this vicodin is making my brain think odd things (another reason why I can't drive my MINI). It sucks typing with one hand!!!

I want some Reese's peanut butter cups

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2003 Cooper, Borla exhaust, Moss intake, Magnecor plug wires - Brookline, MA

 

I went thru the tunnel on 3/31 about 11:30 a.m. Breezed right through. Nice banked curve inside that is going to be wicked fun at night about 80 mph. Hope there's no cams taking photo's. Driving over the bridge was great. Have to be careful looking up thru the sun roof and attempting to drive straight!
Chris, enjoy the pain killers. I had spinal surgery last June and have fond memories of Oxycontin, valium, cyclobenzaprine, and endocet.
Is it a hard cast so you can thump the hoods of taxi's who don't mind the pedestrian cross walks?

 

Yeah, hard cast. I hadn't thought of using it for that purpose, though! I am generally a fairly militant pedestrian, and give people a lot of crap for not stopping at crosswalks, even when I'm driving and see it happen.

Can't wait to drive across the bridge, either! I think the cast comes off today, so hopefully I'll be back behind the wheel soon. A lot of my friends have called dibs on the leftover painkillers!

 

CCM there are tons of cameras taking photos and they know how fast every car is travelling though the tunnels. having said that, I did that same banked onramp at something faster than 35mph


the Bridge is awesome, and the new tunnel is great!

-ade