Loading Page...

Is Callahan and Sumner the same tunnel?

The Sumner Tunnel was opened on June 30, 1934. It carried traffic in both directions until the opening of the parallel Callahan Tunnel in 1961. The Sumner Tunnel is named for William H. Sumner, the son of Governor Increase Sumner.



People Also Ask

The Big Dig separated the co-mingled traffic from the Massachusetts Turnpike and the Sumner and Callahan tunnels.

MORE DETAILS

The Sumner Tunnel is undergoing a restoration that began in the spring of 2022. This work requires the tunnel to be closed to traffic periodically.

MORE DETAILS

It was originally a two-way road that carried traffic in both directions, until the opening of the parallel Callahan Tunnel in 1961. The tunnel is 8,448 feet long, of which approximately 3,960 feet are underwater. In 2017, the state removed the tollbooths as part of a switch to electronic tolling.

MORE DETAILS

They were in fact built decades apart, the Sumner in 1934, and the Callahan in 1961.

MORE DETAILS

Where is the Sumner Tunnel? The Sumner Tunnel/Route 1A South, situated between East Boston and the North End, takes drivers from Logan Airport to I-93/ Boston and points north.

MORE DETAILS

The tunnel is 8,448 feet (2,575 m) long, of which approximately 3,960 feet (1,210 m) are underwater. A toll is collected in both directions, through the E-ZPass electronic toll collection system, formerly named the Fast Lane system.

MORE DETAILS

It was originally a two-way road that carried traffic in both directions, until the opening of the parallel Callahan Tunnel in 1961. The tunnel is 8,448 feet long, of which approximately 3,960 feet are underwater. In 2017, the state removed the tollbooths as part of a switch to electronic tolling.

MORE DETAILS

First, workers dredged a 50-foot trench along the floor of Boston Harbor. Then, 12 giant steel tubes, each 325 feet long and already containing roads, were dropped into the water. Once the tubes had been connected on the harbor floor, the tunnel was buried in a 5-foot protective layer of rock.

MORE DETAILS

Today, underwater tunnels are often created with humongous tunnel-boring machines (TBMs) — sometimes called moles. These machines cost millions of dollars, but they can create large tunnels in a very short time.

MORE DETAILS

It carries motor vehicles from the North End to Logan International Airport and Route 1A in East Boston. Ordinarily, this tunnel is only used to carry traffic out of the city, and with the completion of the Big Dig it only collects traffic from I-93 southbound and downtown Boston.

MORE DETAILS

The Sumner Tunnel is undergoing a restoration that began in the spring of 2022. This work requires the tunnel to be closed to traffic periodically.

MORE DETAILS