Editing Sumner Tunnel

{{Short description|Tunnel in Boston}}
{{Refimprove|date=December 2009}}
{{Primary|date=September 2018}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox tunnel
|name        = Sumner Tunnel
|image       = Exit from Sumner Tunnel.jpg
|caption     = Exit from the tunnel in [[Downtown Boston]]
|location    = [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]]
|coordinates = {{Coord|42|22|05|N|71|2|47|W|type:landmark_region:US-MA|display=title,inline}}
|route       = {{jct|state=MA|MA|1A|dir1=south}}
|status      = Open
|start       = [[East Boston]]
|end         = [[Downtown Boston]]
|startwork   =
|opened      = {{start date and age|June 30, 1934}}
|close       =
|owner       = [[Massachusetts|Commonwealth of Massachusetts]]
|operator    = [[Massachusetts Department of Transportation]]
|traffic     = Automotive
|toll        = Between $0.20 and $2.05 depending on payment method and residency<ref>{{cite web|title=Toll Rates|url=https://www.ezdrivema.com/TollCalculator|website=EZDRIVEMA|accessdate=December 2, 2016}}</ref>
|construction= March 30, 1931 – June 30, 1934
|length      = {{convert|1.079|mi|km|abbr=on}}
|lanes       = 2
|speed       = {{convert|40|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}
|hielevation =
|lowelevation=
|height      = {{convert|12.6|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|width       = {{convert|22.2|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|grade       =
}}

The '''Sumner Tunnel''' is a road [[tunnel]] in [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], United States. It carries traffic under [[Boston Harbor]] in one direction, from [[Logan International Airport]] and [[Massachusetts Route 1A|Route 1A]] in [[East Boston]]. The tunnel originally deposited traffic at the west side of the [[North End, Boston|North End]], but with the completion of the [[Big Dig (Boston, Massachusetts)|Big Dig]], it was modified to have two exits. One exit connects to [[Interstate 93|I-93]] northbound and downtown Boston (Government Center) near [[Haymarket (MBTA station)|Haymarket Station]]. The other exit connects to [[Storrow Drive]] and Nashua St., connecting [[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]] via [[Massachusetts Route 28|Route 28]]. Traffic headed for I-93 southbound and the [[Massachusetts Turnpike]] ([[Interstate 90|I-90]]) westbound is normally routed to the [[Ted Williams Tunnel]]. It is managed by the [[Massachusetts Department of Transportation]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Close-Out Audit of Agencies and Authorities Combined into the Massachusetts Department of Transportation |url=https://www.mass.gov/doc/close-out-of-agencies-and-authorities-combined-into-the-massachusetts-department-of/download |access-date=July 3, 2024 |website=Commonwealth of Massachusetts: Office of the State Auditor}}</ref>

==History==
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]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Ask the Globe; Q. Who Was William Sumner, for Whom the Sumner Tunnel Was Named? |work=[[Boston Globe]] |date=July 26, 1981 |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/294132545/B008FA3E45C9442FPQ/1 |via=[[Proquest]] |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Until 2009, it was managed by the [[Massachusetts Turnpike Authority]], when it was transferred to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.<ref name=":0" />

{{Asof|2016}}, a [[Toll tunnel|toll]] of $1.50 is charged for non-commercial two-axle vehicles with a Massachusetts [[E-ZPass]], while non-Massachusetts E-ZPass holders are charged $1.75. Vehicles without E-ZPass are charged $2.05 through MassDOT's Pay by Plate MA program. For residents of certain Boston ZIP Codes, a discount is in effect using an E-ZPass transponder, costing $0.20. On November 14, 2008, the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority voted in favor of a proposed toll hike which would double the toll to $7.00 for non-commercial vehicles (at the time, the toll was $3.50 in the southbound direction only). E-ZPass users would receive a $1.00 discount and commercial vehicles would end up having to pay $9.00. This vote was later rescinded following a vote approving a 1.25% sales tax increase.

In 2016, [[Open road tolling|cashless tolling]] systems were installed in both directions, entering the Sumner Tunnel and exiting the Callahan Tunnel as part of a plan to modernize toll collection in the Boston area.<ref>{{cite news |last1=McKeever |first1=Jim |title=Big changes on the Mass. Pike: Everything you need to know |url=https://www.fox61.com/article/travel/bucket-list/big-changes-on-the-mass-pike-everything-you-need-to-know/520-736dcaaa-cd0f-4824-891c-247e9fd20723 |access-date=July 12, 2023 |work=Fox 61 |date=October 27, 2016}}</ref>

The tunnel has been shut intermittently for modernization from summer 2022 through summer 2024. It was fully closed from July 5 and August 5, 2024, and on weekends from August 9 through November 15, except for August 30 and October 11.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sumner Tunnel Restoration: Project details and closure schedule |url=https://www.mass.gov/info-details/sumner-tunnel-restoration-project-details-and-closure-schedule |access-date=July 3, 2024 |website=Massachusetts Department of Transportation: MassDOT Projects and Studies: Sumner Tunnel}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Sweeney |first1=Emily |title=‘It’s going to have a major impact’: Boston neighborhoods brace for Sumner Tunnel construction, closures |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/05/09/metro/its-going-have-major-impact-boston-neighborhoods-brace-sumner-tunnel-construction-closures/ |access-date=July 11, 2023 |work=Boston Globe |date=May 9, 2022}}</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Sumner Tunnel.png|Showing the Sumner Tunnel (in red)
File:Sumner Tunnel shield.jpg|An old shield for the Sumner Tunnel, with the [[Masspike]] hat. This shield is no longer used.
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Big Dig (Boston, Massachusetts)]]
* [[Callahan Tunnel]]
* [[Massachusetts Turnpike]]
* [[Ted Williams Tunnel]]
* [[Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. Tunnel]]
* [[Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge|Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://openarchives.umb.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/p15774coll13 Sumner Tunnel construction photographs, 1929–1933], University Archives and Special Collections, Joseph P. Healey Library, [[University of Massachusetts Boston]]

[[Category:Boston Harbor]]
[[Category:Tunnels in Boston]]
[[Category:Toll tunnels in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:U.S. Route 1]]
[[Category:Interstate 93]]
[[Category:Tunnels completed in 1934]]
[[Category:Road tunnels in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:1934 establishments in Massachusetts]]