Bridge work affects Museum of Science, Duck Tours

The Boston Herald
Bridge work hits Ducks, dinosaurs
By Marie Szaniszlo | Sunday, November 7, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Coverage

Construction started on the Craigie Drawbridge yesterday, snarling outbound traffic on the McGrath/O’Brien Highway and detouring inbound traffic around the Museum of Science.

For the next month, commuters trying to get to Interstate 93 and Storrow Drive will be detoured east over the Gilmore Bridge. Drivers heading to Interstate 93 north will be directed through Sullivan Square, and those traveling to the Charles Circle area will be detoured west down Land Boulevard to Longfellow Bridge.

Jonathan Burke, the museum’s vice president of visitor services and operations, described business in light of the project as “moderate,” or slightly below the 6,000 people who typically visit on a fall weekend.

“We’ve been telling people this was coming for months, so we’ve had no backups,” Burke said. “We’re just encouraging people to take public transit or to give themselves extra time.”

The project forced Boston Duck Tours, whose staging area is outside the museum, to limit rides to the lower Charles River basin.

“We’re not able to go up river, where the best views of Boston are,” said Phil Young, assistant general manager.

To compensate customers, the duck boats gave anyone who bought a ticket yesterday a free one to use next year, after construction has ended. Traffic leaving Boston through Leverett Circle will be unaffected by the $42.8 million project. About 45,000 vehicles cross the bridge daily, said Jonathan Gulliver, project manager for the state Department of Transportation.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1294604