Final drive of old I-93 South, Somerville to Boston, December 20th 2003

[@RocketDescends]

I moved to Boston in 2001 and I still remember driving through the seaport district and seeing one of the coolest buildings I’ve ever seen at the time (Custom House tower). Brings back great memories! Thank you!

[@jamie.777]

Seaport district is absolutely 💯 mind blowing 🤯 8n 2024, wow. It's gorgeous and the best water front in any city.. the big dig made that all happen

[@RocketDescends]

@@jamie.777 I know its such a nice place now. Same thing with southie. Southie just feels so much different now.

[@rebecca8525]

Remember when people were taking bets as to which would happen first: the Big Dig being completed, or the Red Sox winning the World Series?

[@stephanchaggaris9437]

🤣

[@SnepperStepTV]

yeah i remember that!

[@johntrek187]

Thank you for this. I drove this so many times with my dad. Brings back memories. You even have wbz playing. ❤

[@jamie.777]

Brings 😢 a tear to my eye. I worked as a union laborer construction worker those years, NO cell , NO GPS 😂, i got lost in Boston a lot

[@HayastAnFedayi]

Call me crazy, nuts, or in the minority...but I miss the old Artery so much, it feels like a part of my childhood gone, that and the old Garden and elevated green and orange lines...loved your video buddy, amazing the memories it brings back from the simplest things like the way the ceiling lights looked on the elevated structure at night.

[@stephanchaggaris9437]

me too man... i don't miss the constant traffic jams on that old artery, but when it was clear, there was nothing like driving through the city & witnessing all that. A drive in a tunnel underneath provides exactly ZERO points of interest. I've always had a problem with the fact that the old Garden was torn down. I understand the desire to build the new one, but why tear down the old one? It was *historic*. Plus, wouldn't it have been good for business to run events in both buildings in tandem?

[@zachschwartz1714]

I was 12 at the time. I remember one of my favorite things in the ‘90s as a kid was the Big Dig exhibit at the MOS

[@kylebarrett4721]

Yes! I used to love riding the fake elevator

[@TheRandomRedSoxGuy]

Damn, I miss the Jordan Rich Show-and all BZ overnight talk shows in general.

[@RobMcDougall]

Oh man, that Polar radio ad was lodged deep in my memory.

[@RichieAlton]

I was 9 but this brings back core memories driving around with my dad especially when Art Cohen came on the radio

[@lukemelone2197]

My first time in Boston I was a toddler from NYC completely in awe by the views from the artery. The area is so much nicer now without the artery, but 21 years later going back as an adult I have to admit I feel like something is missing every time.

[@TKJam]

Thanks for video. Like many of you, I commuted during all this. How apropos they mentioned the big dig in the broadcast. I think I lost 10 yr off my life

[@animaljustice7774]

Now the roads are even more riddled with bumps and potholes

[@gqptyu]

There was an article in Boston Globe at that time about two guys - Ravi Jain and Stefan Economou - who waited on the artery to make the very last journey on the I-93 southbound on the old elevated viaduct. Few hours after you recorded this video.

[@stephanchaggaris9437]

Very cool. I should probably clarify the title of the vid I recorded. "My" final drive of old I-93 South... As much as that elevated highway was frustrating, I actually miss it for the views.

[@dramatyst5661]

With the southbound tunnel opening today, they're looking for a "last." They want to be the last to drive over the decaying elevated artery. Dubbing the stunt "Final Flight," a play on the centennial of the Wright brothers' first flight, the duo planned to don pilot's hats and goggles and, in a Cutlass station wagon, begin a long, slow loop of Somerville roads at dawn, hoping to maneuver into position to be the last car allowed onto the artery before it closes forever. "It's so strange to us how nobody else is excited about these milestones," Economou said. "You'd think people would be lined up for these events, but they're not. I suspect Big Dig fatigue." Some poke fun at them. But they take their role in history seriously. "It's not a joke; there's a legitimacy to all this," Jain said. "This whole project is coming to a close, and we have had this prior relationship with this project, so it's kind of our way of saying goodbye. It's a little sad."

[@dramatyst5661]

​@@stephanchaggaris9437that's the Boston globe article he was talking about

[@johntrek187]

I remember they opened up the new zakim bridge to north bound traffic first. I lived north of the city. That first night I drove south on the old artery, turned around. Then came back north on the new bridge. I think I turned around again to drive it twice the first night.

[@masterroasti5588]

Hearing early “war on terror” news brings back a weird version of nostalgia.

[@stephanchaggaris9437]

I'm glad now that I had the radio on while I was recording this drive. Weird version of nostalgia is spot on.

[@SnepperStepTV]

what was your set-up to tape the drives?

[@SignalMan9292]

At least some of the double deck section still exists

[@radanju3]

This is sooo cool!!!!!!

[@kevinmanfratv19]

Big Dig Work During Christmas Time 2003

[@Nothinghere0101]

Why did you take Exit 23?

[@gqptyu]

IIRC they had some construction work left to align the new tunnel to the existing Dewey square tunnel north portal so that I-93 southbound could open via the new tunnel next morning. That required closing of the elevated roadway and traffic was redirected to city streets.