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Boston's Morning Newsletter
A brief guide to holiday travel (and traffic) in Massachusetts this season
Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR's daily morning newsletter, WBUR Today. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here.
The wind has calmed down and the skies will be clearer today, but thousands in eastern Massachusetts are still in the dark after yesterday’s powerful (and deadly) storm. We have more on the cleanup efforts below, but first here’s some must know info for your holiday travel plans:
You know the drill: Massachusetts officials are warning drivers to expect busier than usual roads as we approach Christmas and New Year’s. “There will be congestion at times, holiday schedules are in play and travel will be impacted so please take this into consideration,” Massachusetts Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver said yesterday. As a holiday gift to you, here’s some early advice to help plan ahead:
- How to avoid traffic: AAA predicts this Saturday (Dec. 23) and next Thursday (Dec. 28) will be the most congested days on the road. And due to holiday travel, Dec. 30 is also projected to be unusually busy for a Saturday. Their advice is to drive before lunchtime or after 7 p.m. if you want a quicker trip. (Click here and scroll down for a closer look at the best and worst times to drive.)
- Zoom out: Nationwide, this is expected to be the second-busiest year-end travel season since AAA began tracking the trend in 2000 — and the busiest ever for fliers. With plane tickets slightly cheaper than last year, AAA projects 7.5 million people will fly this holiday season, topping 2019’s record of 7.3 million.
- Zoom in: There are no more weekend closures of the Sumner Tunnel scheduled through the end of the year. MassDOT is also opening the southbound I-93 carpool lane between Boston and Quincy an hour earlier in the afternoon the next two Thursdays and Fridays.
- Last but not least: MassDOT is asking you Massholes to “make an extra effort to be courteous on the roads.” So, use ya blinkah.
Many schools on the South Shore are closed today, as widespread power outages continue after the area was hit hard by yesterday’s intense wind and rain. The closures include the public school districts in Cohasset, Duxbury, Marshfield, Norwell and Scituate. NBC Boston has an updating list here.
- Across Massachusetts, over 131,000 customers remain without power this morning, including over 90% of Scituate. According to National Grid’s power outage map, some parts of the South Shore may not get power back until Wednesday or Thursday. As Eversource spokesperson Priscilla Ress told WBUR’s John Bender, one challenge crews faced yesterday was that bucket trucks couldn’t go up in the air while winds were still gusting. “It’s going to take a while to get everything cleaned up,” said Scituate Town Administrator Jim Boudreau.
- Meanwhile, things are getting back to normal at Logan Airport, after flights were grounded during yesterday’s storm. The website FlightAware reports just over 30 delays this morning, after over 200 flights were delayed or canceled yesterday.
- All MBTA ferry service to Hull is canceled today due to cleanup work at the dock. However, ferry trips to Charlestown, Hingham and Logan have resumed.
Gov. Maura Healey’s administration says just over 3,500 of the 7,500 families in the state’s emergency shelter system are migrants, refugees or asylum seekers. That’s according to the first bi-weekly shelter report that the administration sent to lawmakers last night, as part of its new disclosure requirements.
- The report estimates the state will need an additional $224 million to keep its emergency shelter system running through June. Healey’s office proposes dipping into leftover budget surplus funds (roughly $700 million in the state’s Transitional Escrow Fund) to cover the expected deficit.
MBTA Transit Police are trying to identify two people who — yes, seriously — jumped off the top of a moving Red Line train into the Neponset River as it crossed between Quincy and Boston. The stunt was captured in a video that police believe is “several months old,” though it only recently began circulating on social media.
P.S.— You’ve still got a chance to grab tickets to WBUR’s rendition of “A Christmas Carol” tonight at CitySpace (and help those in need this holiday season). The annual reading of this timeless holiday tale has been a tradition for over 20 years at WBUR. Proceeds go to support Boston’s longest-standing women’s shelter, Rosie’s Place.
