BOSTON — It’s the kind of medical emergency that worried officials as they planned the eight-week closure of the Sumner Tunnel, which runs into the city from East Boston. Human organs had to be transported twice from Logan Airport to a large downtown hospital on Thursday.
State Transportation and Massachusetts State Police officers suspended westbound traffic on the only available alternate route, the Ted Williams Tunnel, to allow emergency responders to get through. The closures were brief, but one occurred at around 8:15 a.m. during the peak of the morning rush hour
At 11 a.m. the tunnel was closed again for a second organ transport.
“If the doctors have to do the surgery, they have to do the surgery. They know we can’t wait until later this afternoon to do that,” said Jonathan Gulliver, Massachusetts Highway Administrator. He said it will be standard procedure, though ambulances also have to drive through.
On July 13, 2023, traffic was halted at the Ted Williams Tunnel. CBS Boston
It’s a big concern for East Boston-based Stewart Landers, who sits on the state Public Health Council. “My biggest concern is that there will be unnecessary deaths due to the slowness of trying to reach any of the major teaching hospitals,” he said.
While the East Boston Neighborhood Health Center has an emergency room, it doesn’t have the resources of the state-of-the-art hospitals across the tunnels. “That’s why deploying additional resources is really important,” Landers said.
Gulliver said Thursday’s tunnel adjustments showed it could work. “Obviously it’s difficult timing, but our goal is that when someone needs life-saving care, they get it,” Gulliver said.
He said in that case the organs made it in time.
Visit the Mass 511 website for current traffic conditions.
More information on the Sumner Tunnel closure and diversions can be found here.
Christina Hager
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