Drivers coming into downtown Boston from the North Shore could see “multi-mile” backups and airport travelers should pad in an extra two hours each way while the Sumner Tunnel is closed, officials said Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters in front of the inbound fare gates at Wonderland station, state highway administrator Jonathan Gulliver said the impacts of the two-month tunnel closure — beginning on July 5 — “will be evident and immediate.”
“I want to be very clear: If you normally drive into the city, especially from the North Shore, or take trips into Logan, you should expect to see additional traffic and congestion,” Gulliver said. “We really need the public’s help to get as many vehicles off the road as possible.”
He emphasized that the MBTA will offer free rides on the Blue Line and on a handful of bus routes throughout the closure, and said public transit will be the easiest and cheapest way into the city.
Those traveling to and from Logan should plan for an extra two hours of travel time and should avoid driving whenever possible, said Lisa Wieland, CEO of Massport.
Gulliver said he anticipated the biggest chokepoints to occur along Route 1A, which carries drivers from East Boston and Revere, as well as at 13 intersections flagged for monitoring by MassDOT — including the Transportation Way and Jeffries Street intersection and the Revere Beach Parkway and Winthrop Avenue crossing.
Wieland said tickets for Logan Express — shuttling between the airport and stops in Back Bay, Braintree, Framingham, Peabody, and Woburn — will be reduced 25 percent when purchased online, and tickets for children under 17 will be free when traveling with their families. She added that travelers taking the shuttle should expect “parking to be [at] a premium” around the pickup and drop-off sites. She added that travelers who arrive at the airport via water transportation will receive a ticket to skip to the front of the security line.
“We do expect some backups in the Ted Williams Tunnel,” Wieland said. “Don’t drive to the airport this summer, and please take all of the different options that are available via transit and public transportation. And we thank you in advance for your patience.”
Phil Eng, general manager of the MBTA, said he understood the public’s frustration, but that the “monumental project” is critical to ensuring future access into the city.
“The T is ready to step up,” Eng said. He added that the agency “strategically prioritized” work to eliminate slow zones on the Blue Line this spring, “resulting in measurable benefits and faster commutes.”
A roundtrip on the Blue Line was delayed just over 4 minutes as of July 27, according to data analyzed by advocacy group TransitMatters, down from a peak of nearly 21 minutes in late March.
Eng added that ferry service between Lynn and Boston’s Long Wharf, which began Monday, will continue throughout this and next summer.
Additionally, bus routes 111, 112, 114, 116, 117, which serve Chelsea, and the inbound Silver Line 3 will be free to ride throughout the closure, Eng said. Commuter Rail fares along the Newburyport/Rockport line will be reduced to $2.40 — the standard cost of a one-way subway ticket.
The RIDE, the MBTA’s paratransit service, will be free for trips that begin and end within three quarters of a mile of the free routes, according to Eng.
Mayor Michelle Wu of Boston said the tunnel repairs are long overdue, adding that the new T administration inherited “decades of deferred maintenance.” She emphasized that the T is simultaneously working to eliminate slow zones, which have plagued the lines for months.
She said Boston EMS has been preparing for the closure since last winter and will increase service to ensure ambulances can reach East Boston despite road closures and congestion.
“We will be adding front-line ambulances, with at least one, and up to two, dedicated ambulances deployed and available to respond to emergencies in East Boston at any given time,” Wu said.
Speaking to reporters last week from a modified MassDOT conference room — converted into a tunnel project “command center” — Gulliver said MassDOT is working with the MBTA and Massport to determine how costs will be shared among the three agencies.
Eng told a Globe reporter Wednesday that it is still not clear how the bill for the free and reduced T service will be split, but he hoped those details would be worked out before the end of the closure.
“At the end of the whole two months is when we’ll actually have a reconciliation of what ridership was,” Eng said. “That’s something that’s still being worked through.”
Daniel Kool can be reached at daniel.kool@globe.com. Follow him @dekool01.