The Big Dig Ramp L Reopens

This morning Ramp L, also known as Exit 20, has reopened. Yesterday Mass Turnpike Authority officials opened the carpool lane just north of the ramp, and this morning the ramp was opened to traffic. The ramp, closed since the incident last July, will allow the estimated 22,000 drivers to connect from I-93 N to I-90 E towards Logan. A carpool portion of the eastbound ramp does remain closed for repairs, and is expected to open in the spring. MTA officials say in a press release that the South Boston Bypass Road will go back to being relegated to commercial traffic, rather than handling detour traffic scooting off at Exit 18 while Ramp L was closed. Very slowly, with baby steps to assure safety, the Big Dig project inches toward completion. Don't get us started on the progress (or lack thereof) on the Rose Kennedy Greenway or Green Line service expansion to Union Square. The latest reopening will likely have one unintended consequence: all that overtime Staties were making sitting at the closed ramp's entrances will likely be vanishing.

It is thankful, however, that the Big Dig tunnels, with all their leaks, falling ceiling tiles, and myriad minor issues, that video like the one embedded below isn't coming out of our tunnel. The leaky Lefortovo tunnel in Moscow freezes up, causing a slick surface the wreak havoc on speedy travelers.