Boston drivers take note: the Sumner Tunnel is about to get a signage makeover. Following a rash of incidents involving over-height trucks getting stuck, Massachusetts transportation officials are doubling down on their warning system to keep big rigs at bay, NBC Boston reports.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) announced Monday that additional signs will be posted around the 90-year-old tunnel that connects downtown Boston to East Boston and Logan Airport. According to a recent tally, at least three trucks hit the roof of the Sumner Tunnel just last week, creating traffic headaches and risking structural damage. This series of mishaps convinced the officials that current measures were insufficient. "Safety is our number one priority when it comes to drivers on our highways," state Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt told NBC Boston.
With the aim of preventing these "traffic jams with a bang", new variable message signs will soon direct truckers to alternate routes when necessary, especially those needing to access Interstate 93 north and south. Chains will also clank a warning, being retrofitted on current signs at tunnel portals to shake some sense into any driver about to misjudge their clearance. And for truckers with eyes on the road but not on the signs, MassDOT is developing a "smart roadways virtual sign network" that uses GPS and wireless technology to beam messages directly into truck cabs, WHDH reported.
"We want to make sure that we are doing everything we can to limit truck incidents from happening as well as reducing the delays associated with these incidents," Tibbits-Nutt reiterated in a statement obtained by WHDH. The over-height dilemma isn't unique to the Sumner Tunnel. Only less than a year ago, the Department of Conservation and Recreation introduced a pilot program with similar goals for the notorious Storrow Drive, notorious for peeling open trucks like canned goods. Meanwhile, the restoration of the Sumner Tunnel, which began in 2022, continues apace and is expected to wrap up later in 2024.
