Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. Tunnel

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Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr. Tunnel

The northbound entrance to the tunnel from I-93
Overview
Location	Boston, Massachusetts
Status	Open
Route	I-93 / US 1 / Route 3
Start	South Boston
End	Zakim Bridge over the Charles River
Operation
Opened	March 29, 2003 (northbound), December 20, 2003 (southbound)
Owner	Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Operator	Massachusetts Department of Transportation
Technical
Construction	1995-2004
Length	1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Number of lanes	4
Operating speed	45 mph (72 km/h)

The Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill, Jr. Tunnel is a highway tunnel built as part of the Big Dig in Boston, Massachusetts. It carries the Central Artery underneath downtown Boston, and is numbered as Interstate 93, U.S. Route 1, and Route 3. It roughly follows the route of the old elevated Central Artery, though the northbound entrance, at the corner of Kneeland St. and Atlantic Ave., is somewhat east of the southbound exit (at Kneeland and Albany St.) to allow for a reconfigured interchange with the Massachusetts Turnpike. It runs from the Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge at its north portal to Boston's Chinatown at its south portal.

History [edit]

This section requires expansion. (January 2011)

The O'Neill Tunnel was and remains quite controversial due to the high price of the construction and what was found to be mediocre workmanship. The deep side walls of the tunnel (over 120 feet (37 m) in some areas) had to be constructed using slurry wall construction. The tunnel is notoriously leaky due to the high groundwater levels in the area and the improper construction of the slurry walls, a situation that has led to additional controversy in the wake of the considerable controversy over massive cost overruns and corruption allegations during the project.

Upon its completion in 2006, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney proposed to name it the Liberty Tunnel. The state legislature and the Massachusetts delegation to Congress (all of whom were Democrats) opposed the choice, and it was officially named after O'Neill (a longtime Speaker of the United States House of Representatives) by Section 1930 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), which was passed by Congress and signed by then-President George W. Bush in 2005.

Exit list [edit]

Map showing the O'Neill tunnel (shown in red)

• Northbound
  • Exit 23 -- Government Center
  • Exit 26 -- Storrow Drive

There is no direct access to Logan Airport within the northbound tunnel; airport traffic must get off at Exit 20 in the South Bay area to take Interstate 90 eastbound.

• Southbound
  • Exit 24B & A
    • 24B -- Route 1A (Callahan Tunnel) North, Logan Airport
    • 24A -- Government Center
  • Exit 23—Purchase Street, South Station
  • Exit 20—Albany Street, Massachusetts Turnpike (Interstate 90) West

Access to Cambridge is provided by Exit 26, which feeds the Leverett Circle Connector bridge from Somerville to Storrow Drive.

See also [edit]

Southbound Interstate 93 beneath the streets of Boston

• Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge
• Ted Williams Tunnel
• Callahan Tunnel
• Sumner Tunnel
• Dewey Square Tunnel
• Big Dig (Boston, Massachusetts)
• Massachusetts Turnpike
• Interstate 93

Coordinates: 42°21′28″N 71°3′06″W / 42.35778°N 71.05167°W / 42.35778; -71.05167

v t e Road transportation infrastructure of Boston Interstate Highways I-90 (Massachusetts Turnpike) I-93 I-95 U.S. Routes US 1 US 3 US 20 State Routes Route 1A Route 2 Route 2A Route 3 Route 9 Route 28 Route 30 Route 99 Route 128 Route 145 Route 203 Parkways Arborway Blue Hills Parkway Day Boulevard Fenway Jamaicaway Memorial Drive Morrissey Boulevard Morton Street Park Drive Riverway Stony Brook Reservation Parkways Soldiers Field Road Storrow Drive Truman Parkway VFW Parkway West Roxbury Parkway Major streets Beacon Street Bennington Street Boylston Street Commonwealth Avenue Dorchester Avenue Huntington Avenue Massachusetts Avenue Newbury Street State Street Tremont Street Washington Street Bridges Anderson Memorial Bridge Boston University Bridge Bowker Overpass Charlestown Bridge Eliot Bridge Harvard Bridge Leverett Circle Connector Bridge Longfellow Bridge North Beacon Street Bridge Tobin Bridge Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge Tunnels Callahan Tunnel Dewey Square Tunnel Sumner Tunnel Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. Tunnel Ted Williams Tunnel Expressways East Boston Expressway John F. Fitzgerald Expressway (Central Artery) Northeast Expressway Northern Expressway Northwest Expressway Southeast Expressway Southwest Expressway (Southwest Corridor) Western Expressway Interchanges Braintree Split South Bay Interchange See also Big Dig Boston Post Road Emerald Necklace Inner belt Expressway (unbuilt) List of crossings of the Charles River See also: Streets in Boston, Massachusetts and List of numbered routes in Massachusetts.