Marathon Traffic Mess: DOT Mistakenly Shuts Down Storrow Onramp
BOSTON (CBS) - A Mass DOT mistake resulted in big traffic tie ups in the area of Leverett Circle on Monday morning.
A maintenance crew closed down the Leverett Tunnel exit to Storrow Drive Westbound around 6:30 am, thinking it was supposed to be shut down for the marathon.
"It was the overnight shift that does maintenance," Mass. DOT Highway Administrator Frank DePaola said. "The full closure was something that they instituted thinking that it was going to be a request as part of the traffic management for the Boston Marathon."
The closure backed up traffic for miles. DaPaola says the crew was trying to be proactive, but by doing so, shut down a route that wasn't supposed to be shut down.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kim Tunnicliffe reports
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"The marathon does not normally request that we close Storrow Drive westbound," DePaola said. "They took it upon themselves to put the closure into effect."
DePaola apologized to drivers who were inconvenienced and says the DOT is working to ensure a mistake like this one doesn't happen again.
"We'll make sure that any road closure no matter what is done at the direction of senior management," he said.
