The Big Dig

It's almost time for us to move on, and on this very beautiful fall day with temperatures in the mid 70s, we had fun with the grandkids one more time. Driving through Boston can be a real trial, but in the late morning in the middle of the week, it was a breeze. We often drive around Boston, on route #128, but today we went straight through the heart of Boston. 

The skyline of Boston on a clear fall day.

The Thomas O. O'Neill, Jr. Tunnel takes traffic along a 1.5 mile road under Boston. Construction of the tunnel, known as The Big Dig, was the largest (most expensive) public works project at the time, the mid-1990s. It was constructed right under the old elevate artery through Boston and part of the project was to demolish the old roadway. The whole project was completed in 2007 at a cost of $14.6 billion. 

Entering the Thomas "Tip" O'Neill Tunnel.

Inside the tunnel.

Exiting the tunnel we pass over the Bunker Hill Bridge which is meant to symbolically fuse Boston's future with its historic past. With its inverted Y-shaped towers, it is the shape of the Bunker Hill Monument in neighboring Charlestown. The bridges cables - which suggest a ship in full sail - also evokes the history of East Boston as a center of shipbuilding. It is the only one of its kind ever built. In addition to being the widest cable-stayed bridge in the world, the bridge is the first "hybrid" cable-stayed bridge in the U.S., using both steel and concrete in its frame. 

From the web; I don't know how to center the picture.

Enough about roads and bridges. Here's the best part of the day.

We're all big fans of Winnie-the-Pooh.

Nathan's tower out of paper towel rolls. Better than any bridge I've seen.

Thanks, Mom.