Leverett Circle

MassDOT alerts us that, once again, you'd best avoid Leverett Circle during the evening rush due to those still uncompleted repairs.

Separately, the state says it's shutting the westbound side of the Ted Williams Tunnel between 11:30 p.m. and 5 a.m. for some maintenance.

This just in from MassDOT:

Motorists should seek alternate routes or expect delays heading into Leverett Circle during this afternoon’s commute. Motorists are proceeding cautiously over a plate that is covering a roadway defect on the ramp from Leverett Circle to I-93 Southbound. As motorists take the ramp at a reduced speed, this is creating a queue along the roadways feeding into Leverett Circle.

Massachusetts State Police will be assisting with traffic flow this afternoon. Work began last night to repair the road surface and work will continue overnight tonight. If the repair is not completed tonight, State Police will assist with traffic flow again tomorrow afternoon.

To help alleviate congestion, the I-93 Expressway Southbound HOV lane will open at 2:30pm today.

At 5:54 a.m., MassDOT tweeted:

Traffic Alert: Boston- Storrow Drive tunnel at Leverett Circle, overheight truck stopped @ tunnel entrance. Traffic back up both ramps.

At 6:12 a.m., the agency alerted those who were awake that the truck had been removed (but that traffic was still heavy as a result).

I just received notice at work from our building's transportation coordinator that the Craigie Bridge will have major lane closures this winter to repair the bridge. Craigie Bridge is the steel drawbridge on O'Brien Highway at the Leverett Circle that allows for ship access between Charles River and the harbor.

The construction is planned to run from November 2010 to April 2011. It will include two periods where all three inbound lanes from Land Blvd to Leverett Circle will be closed to traffic. The first period begins the evening of November 5 and runs until mid-December. The second period will begin in late January. Only outbound traffic into Cambridge from the Circle will be able to use O'Brien Highway.

MassDOT will be holding a 2-hour public meeting on Thursday October 7 at 6:30 PM in the Museum of Science's Cahners Theater to discuss the impacts.

Mats Tolander posts photos from yesterday's "unimpressive" nor'easter, including one of an 18-wheeler whose driver suddenly realized he wasn't going to make it out of the tunnel from I-93 to Storrow Drive in one piece and so stopped just in time - but after he blew by the "NO TRUCKS" sign.