Contact: Lorraine Marino 617-503-5536

Now Open: I-90 Connector, Boston to Seattle

Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, U.S. Representatives Edward Markey and Stephen Lynch, and Boston Mayor Tom Menino were among those on-hand for the January opening of the I-90 Connector, a new roadway that extends the Mass Pike and provides a direct route to the Ted Williams Tunnel, Logan Airport, and points north and east of the city.
 
Modern's Fort Point Channel job, which many Big Dig officials called the most difficult and technically challenging portion of the entire Central Artery Project, was the key to the completion of this 3.5-mile section of road. Crews built six huge tunnel sections in a specially constructed Casting Basin before floating them into position in the channel. The tunnel boxes, weighing in at as much as 52,000 tons each, were placed into the murky seawater of the channel, just a few feet above existing Red Line tunnels. Although the Fort Point Channel crossing represented only about 1,100 feet of the entire 3.5-mile roadway (which, overall, includes the Ted Williams Tunnel), it was by far the most complicated portion of the I-90 Connector. This job also represented the first use of concrete immersed tube tunnels in the U.S.
 
In addition to Governor Romney, Representatives Markey and Lynch, and Mayor Menino, the line-up of speakers also included Federal Highway Administrator Mary Peters, State Senate President Robert Travaglini, Robert Beal of the Artery Business Committee, and Joseph Nigro of the Boston Building Trades Council. Mass Turnpike Chairman Matthew Amorello served as the Master of Ceremonies. In all, about 3,000 people were in attendance for the ribbon cutting.
 
Television crews from every major Boston station and newspaper reporters and photographers arrived early on the 18th, staking out camera space in the frigid temperatures and waiting for the program to begin. A brass band made up of Watertown veterans played "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and other patriotic tunes as MBTA buses arrived to drop off guests and the line-up of political leaders who were taking part in the event. A banner hung near the podium that read, "NOW OPEN, I-90, Boston to Seattle," in recognition of the fact that the Interstate now stretches all the way from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific.
 
"We're very proud of the men and women from Modern Continental who are responsible for the successful completion of our portion of this project," said President John Pastore, who spent his own fair share of time at the Fort Point Channel job before taking on his current position last year. "Through their dedication and hard work, we were able to overcome all kinds of obstacles that this very challenging job presented. It's a credit to their professionalism and commitment, and they deserve our thanks."
 
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