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Taxpayers Get Good Big Dig News

I-93 South Tunnel To Open Dec. 19

POSTED: 7:18 pm EST December 10, 2003
UPDATED: 7:48 pm EST December 10, 2003

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As the Big Dig nears completion, taxpayers received good news Wednesday about the multi-billion dollar project.

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NewsCenter 5's Jack Harper reported that Citizen's Bank has announced it pay the entire cost of the upcoming Boston Pops concert, including security costs and a final part of the project will only require a rehab and will not have to be entirely reconstructed.

Late Wednesday, Citizen's Bank announced that they would pick up the additional $150,000 tab to cover security fees for the Dec. 19 concert event to mark the opening of the Interstate 93 southbound tunnel. Citizen's Bank announced last week they would pay $250,000 to sponsor the concert.

The last piece of the $14.6 billion project, the Dewey Square Tunnel, was originally slated to be completely redone, but engineers found the tunnel to be in such good shape it only requires a rehab job.

"We were not surprised it was good. We were pleasantly surprised that is was excellent," said I-93 Manager Bill Rogers.

To save time and money, officials have decided to remodel the tunnel. The Dewey Square tunnel was built in 1956.

"Basically what we are doing here is using the existing outside perimeter walls which are still in excellent shape. They did a fine job back in the day when they built this. The steel is like day one. It is absolutely in beautiful shape. We are reconfiguring the walls inside to suit the lane needs we have," said Rogers.

When I-93 southbound opens on Dec. 19, motorists will be driving in the tunnel's lanes already in use, but behind the tunnel's walls, workers will be gutting and rehabbing the other side.

Part of the tunnel will be a connector from I-93 to the Mass Pike.

"We would have gone in an literally demo something that we would have really put back in the same spot and quite honestly, the concrete, the steel -- wonderful," said Rogers.

Rogers said the rehab project will take about 10 months to complete.

The I-93 southbound tunnel is still scheduled to open Dec. 19.

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