BOSTON -- The opening Friday of a major part of the Big Dig will be the culmination of a lengthy and costly process.

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A Look Back At Project See A Map Of The New Tunnel (PDF)

NewsCenter 5's Jack Harper reported that when the connection between the Massachusetts Turnpike and Logan International Airport is open to drivers, officials say it will take minutes to get to the airport. But the expected ease of traffic belies the struggles to get the project built.

Former Gov. Michael Dukakis spoke of the project in1986 as a way to revamp the city's transportation system.

"We've got an opportunity here not just to solve some of the problems that affect the artery and access to the airport, but to make the artery tunnel project part of a total approach to transportation in the metropolitan area," Dukakis said at the time.

In 1986, the idea was already 10 years old. A year later, Sen. Edward Kennedy delivered $3 billion in federal aid.

In 1990, a piece of iron was cut to symbolize the beginning of the project. By 1994, the first part of project was nearing completion, as the third tunnel to the airport was named after Red Sox legend Ted Williams.

"Never in my wildest dreams would I ever have thought that they were going to build a tunnel and put my name in any way connected to it," Williams said.

All the while, the Interstate 90 connection, most challenging part of the project, was inching forward. Workers froze the earth under the South Boston tracks, then burrowed under it, making a tunnel 10 lanes wide.

But there would be more challenges ahead, the most embarrassing and costly a leak 18 months ago that flooded the tunnel. Engineers pumped a solidifying sludge in to plug the leaks.

Finally, $6.5 billion later the project will be complete.

"It certainly was lot of controversy with it, but at the end of the day, it is an incredible highway achievement," Massachusetts Turnpike Authority chairman Matt Amorello said. "It is a monument to man's ingenuity."

The new tunnel will be dedicated Friday at 11 a.m., but it won't open to traffic until some time over the holiday weekend.

Drivers will then have new options for getting to the airport:

From the west: Motorists can simply stay on the Massachusetts Turnpike, which will connect directly to the Ted Williams Tunnel, which will be open to all traffic as soon as the new tunnel opens.

From the north: Drivers coming from the north on I-93 South will still take the Callahan Tunnel, even after the Big Dig is completed. The idea is to split traffic between the tunnels to make the ride easier.

From the south: The Callahan Tunnel will also be the main way to get to the airport for the time being, so take I-93 North to the tunnel. A new exit 20 ramp connecting I-93 North to the eastbound turnpike and the Ted Williams Tunnel is scheduled to open around Jan. 25. That should then be the quickest way to get to Logan.

Leaving the airport will also be a bit different:

Going west: Use the Ted Williams Tunnel to connect directly to the turnpike.

Going north: Drivers will have the same route for now. Take the Sumner Tunnel to I-93 North. When the new northbound lanes of the Central Artery open in about a month, a new ramp will connect the turnpike to I-93 North, making the Ted Williams Tunnel the best option.

Going south: Continue using the Sumner Tunnel. There will eventually be a ramp connecting the westbound Turnpike to I-93 South.