Boston’s $160 million Sumner Tunnel renovation/restoration reached substantial completion ahead of schedule. Work on the 90-year-old tunnel that carries drivers from Logan International Airport to Interstate 93/Boston and points north ended Oct. 6.
While no full completion date has been set for the design and construction project that began in April 2022, it is expected before Thanksgiving, says a spokesman for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
Major rehabilitation of the entire 1.5-mile-long project required 59 weekend closures over the past two years and two extended summer closures. The original schedule would have required five additional weekend closures. MassDOT says the remaining work will be completed during normal off-peak operations.
“We are pleased to have been able to deliver this project ahead of schedule,” State Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver said in a statement.
Gulliver said the general contractor, JF White, “worked tirelessly with MassDOT to find ways to expedite this important work.”
The total rehabilitation effort included the removal of 3,800 dropped roof panels, the installation of 735 precast arch segments and 146 precast roof slabs, each weighing more than six tons, and the rehabilitation of 13,516 square meters of concrete driveways, the placement of 4,307 tons of asphalt pavement and the installation of 69 new drainage inlets among other work that will “increase safety and climate resiliency,” MassDOT says. “The project is a major investment in the state’s transportation infrastructure and extends the life of the tunnel by at least 75 years.”
The project addresses both structural and functional deficiencies of the tunnel system through accelerated construction strategies to minimize the overall duration of impacts to travelers and surrounding communities, notes a MassDOT public design meeting document.
“The Sumner Tunnel Restoration Project was a very important effort that ensures this vital piece of infrastructure is in the best possible condition,” MassDOT Secretary and Executive Director Monica Tibbits-Nutt said in a statement . 
