The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) today announced that the Maverick Street gate will remain open on a 24-hour basis. The decision was necessitated by Massport's need to redeploy personnel in light of the heightened security measures and the dramatic decrease in airport-related traffic in the last three months.
The gate was originally installed to deter airport-related traffic from cutting through neighborhood streets during peak travel times (especially 3:00 - 6:00 pm) to access the Sumner Tunnel and Route 1A North. However, the decreased airport traffic since September 11 has eased airport traffic significantly. Since September airport traffic has decreased by over 30 percent.
In addition, the first portion of the new airport roadway system opened in November providing a direct connection to the outbound airport roadway from Harborside Drive. A new direct connection between Route 1A and the Ted Williams Tunnel will open in early January. This new road will allow vehicles to completely bypass Logan Airport and will further reduce airport-related traffic on neighborhood streets.
Massport will continue to monitor traffic at and around Logan International Airport and will consider staffing the Maverick Street gate if needed in the future.