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Storrowing inside the O'Neill Tunnel causes impressive delays on I-93 from the north

Electronic signboard showing long delays on I-93

DD808 had plenty of time to snap the delay sign on I-93 southbound north of Boston this morning, thanks to a trucker who tried to sneak a too tall load into the O'Neill Tunnel, but failed:

At 8:25 a.m., MassDOT reported all lanes had reopened.

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Comments

is there a bell?

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10/10

Going fast, good execution, and even nailed the landing with the empty space on the flatbed.

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Yikes.

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When there are delays on the MBTA you always have drivers who comment stuff like, "This is why I drive instead of taking the T". Where are those commenters now? I mean, other than stuck in their car for 2 hours...

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Does this happen every single day? And do all those drivers take this route?

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People riding the T aren't actually delayed "every single day".

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But yes...some more mild version of the same seems to happen on good ole' 93 south on at least a weekly basis.

Source: Me. Formerly daily commuter.

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When the T has serious delays, they advise people to seek alternative transportation.

When the highways in Downtown Boston have serious delays, why don't the traffic reporters advise people to use the T?

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This is why I bike. There is very little that can significantly alter my commute time.

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Very little that you can't incrementally eliminate - like getting better tires to prevent flats, etc.

Today was so beautiful for biking, too. Chilly, perhaps, but I have layers for that. Gorgeous fall morning.

I was gobsmacked when I got to work and heard how bad it was on I 93 - and grateful to not use the express bus today. I kind of wondered why there was so little traffic through Sullivan and Charlestown and down into the North End.

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This is why I take the T instead of driving.

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And I drive from JP to my place of business. This didn't affect me at all!

Wheeeeeee!

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Kinopio says there are ALWAYS drivers commenting about driving instead of taking the T.

You have failed this news site: the last two postings about dead or disabled trains have NO drivers saying that is why they drive.

Get on it.

PS: even when the T is working well, it doubles my commute vs driving.

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Or did you forget the keyboard kaopectate?

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Job. Done.

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I'd rather take the T or bike even if driving is quicker. On the T I can read or answer emails. When riding I feel better and get some exercise plus I'm never stuck in traffic.

To each their own.

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My husband is driving while we commute together. And we get to continue to enjoy each others' company.

I am a weirdo, I like to drive and / or be driven.

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gane (specialized flatbed), actually overheight? The southbound O'Neill Tunnel at the I-90/Albany Street ramp has a sudden change in roadway profile, as well as superelevation in the curve.

Even assuming the posted clearance of 13'-9" is lower than the actual clearance (14'-2"?), these factors don't allow much allowance for error with a 13'-6" high rig.

And this is not the first time a container/gane combination has struck the ceiling at this location. And it won't be the last either.

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people really should know better. Are people willfully stupid, or what?

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It sounds like there may be a localized clearance problem, if what Roadman says is correct.

If that is the case, DOT needs to fix the problem or change the clearance or alert drivers not to use that lane.

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Even assuming the posted clearance of 13'-9" is lower than the actual clearance (14'-2"?), these factors don't allow much allowance for error with a 13'-6" high rig.

The O'Neill Tunnel's clearance is 13'6"

And the driver was cited for being both overheight and overwidth. He had no business being there. Contrary to your speculation that the margins are too low and that therefore a compliant vehicle could hit the ceiling, it appears that the company had regularly been driving through here overheight and overwidth and the margins are large enough that they had managed to not hit the ceiling in the past.

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And if the clearance was really only 13'-6", as the web site indicates, this sort of thing would be happening far more frequently than it does (13'-6" legal height trailer up against a 13'-6" max height interstate highway tunnel - ZERO margin of tolerance). Also, if the vehicle grossly exceeded a height of 13'-9", then explain how it managed to get that far into the tunnel without hitting the ceiling (or anything mounted to it) prior to the I-90/Albany Street exit, where the roadway profile quickly changes from a downgrade to an upgrade AND superelevation beginning in the curve.

Yes, I am aware that the State Police has since cited the driver for having a vehicle that was both overheight and overwidth. One question, what were the exact dimensions of the truck and how much did they exceed the legal standards? Knowing this could go a long way to determining whether there may be an actual clearance "pinch point" within the tunnel.

Lastly, as I noted in my previous post, there have been previous cases where a container/trailer combination that meets the legal maximum height of 13'-6" has managed to strike the ceiling of the O'Neill Tunnel at the very same spot as this morning's incident. The only difference was that, in the prior cases, the truck was going slower and got hung up instead of breaking apart from the impact.

Note that, unlike cars, truck trailers do not ride perfectly smooth and level as they go down the highway. Not uncommon for a truck to "bounce", even on a road that is only moderately rough or uneven, sometimes to the point of "clipping" the bottom of overhead signs - which are normally mounted at 17'-6" above the road. In fact, one of the most common maintenance activities in the O'Neill Tunnel is the replacement of overhead signs, that are mounted above the posted clearance point, with new ones due to damage from truck impact.

So, and with respect, I'm sticking by my scenario until somebody comes up with hard evidence to disprove it.

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But that sign is actually on Route 1 south between Route 16 and Carter Street in Chelsea. The US 1 sign in the right of the picture is a clue.

Of course, this makes the situation displayed on the sign all the more dire, as there's no reasonable alternate to the Tobin Bridge once you pass Route 16.

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Holy smokes! The person that came within inches of rear-ending the trailer will need a new set of pants!

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while it wax in the tunnel? How did he get that far in?

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About how the truck most likely wasn't over height.

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Do those signs happen to go into the 1,000s of minutes?

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That's absolute hell!

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I saw those same signs and still got to work on time.

On two wheeeeeeeels! Also got a nice face full of sunshine to adjust my alertness.

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Speaking of Storrowing,

The "Lobsterpocalypse" bridge in Islington (Westwood) is being replaced over two weekends, starting tomorrow. East Street will be closed at that point from the 9th until the 12th.
http://westwood.wickedlocal.com/news/20181108/westwoods-east-street-brid...

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Now I'm wondering what the software does if traffic is completely stopped between whatever sampling period it uses to do its calculations. Did they handle a possible divide-by-zero error?

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It's based on time calculated for vehicles passing specific points. If traffic is stopped, and thus no vehicles that pass the first point end up passing the second, it continues to display the last times recorded for a little while (not sure how long), before reverting to "---".

If you drive around in the wee hours of the morning you'll often see a mix of times and ---, due to the low traffic volumes.

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