The major rehabilitation of the entire 1.5-mile-plus-long project required 59 weekend closures during the past two years and two extended summertime closures. The original schedule would have required an additional five weekend closures. MassDOT says the remaining work will be completed during normal off-peak operations.

“We are thrilled that we have been able to deliver this project ahead of schedule” State Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver said in a statement. 

Gulliver said general contractor, J.F. White “worked tirelessly with MassDOT to find ways to accelerate this important work.”

The total rehabilitation effort included removing 3,800 dropped ceiling panels, installing 735 precast arch segments and 146 precast ceiling slabs, each weighing more than six tons, rehabilitating 13,516 sq yd. of concrete roadway, laying 4,307 tons of asphalt paving and installing 69 new drainage inlets among other work that “will increase safety and climate resiliency,” MassDOT says. “The project is a major investment in the state’s transportation infrastructure and extends the tunnel’s useful life by at least 75 years.’”

The project addresses both structural and functional system deficiencies of the tunnel using accelerated construction strategies to minimize the overall duration of impacts to travelers and surrounding communities, notes a MassDOT design public meeting document.

“The Sumner Tunnel Restoration Project was a hugely important effort that ensures this vital piece of infrastructure is in the best possible condition going forward,” MassDOT Secretary and chief executive Monica Tibbits-Nutt said in a statement.