Bay Bridge Traffic

Parade bound? Bruins party expected to snarl traffic

NEWBURYPORT — It will be a Saturday to remember for the region's legion of Bruins fans, as the Stanley Cup is paraded down the streets of Boston tomorrow.

But it also may be a nightmare commute to remember, as bridge construction on Interstate 93 near the city has prompted the state police to warn motorists of extremely heavy traffic tomorrow morning. Police are advising people to avoid I-93 and find alternate routes, or use public transportation.

The Bruins blanked the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 on Wednesday night before a restless and then hostile crowd in British Columbia. Wednesday's victory earned the Bruins a 4-3 series win and their sixth Stanley Cup since 1924, their first year in the National Hockey League. They last won the Cup in 1972 after defeating the New York Rangers.

Tomorrow's parade is expected to begin at 11 a.m. at the TD Garden, located next to North Station. It will head down Causeway Street to Staniford Street, then turn left onto Tremont Street. On Tremont, it will pass several landmarks, including Boston City Hall and Boston Common. It will then turn onto Boylston Street and will head toward Copley Square, ending by the Prudential Center. Some have estimated the crowd to be between 900,000 and 1.5 million people.

For Greater Newburyport residents planning to make the trek into Boston by car, they will likely find plenty of company on the road if they take Interstate 93, as it will be reduced to two lanes in both directions over a 6-mile segment from Somerville to Stoneham to accommodate bridge work over Route 16 in Medford.

Because of construction and the parade, state police are urging motorists north of Boston to consider alternate routes, as they are expecting "extremely heavy traffic on Route 93 on Saturday."

The two alternative routes proposed by police are Route 1 southbound to the Tobin Bridge or Route 128 southbound to the Massachusetts Turnpike eastbound. Motorists are urged to use the same alternate routes to depart the city. State police estimate the peak traffic delays to be experienced before 9 a.m. and end after 2 p.m.

A Massachusetts Department of Transportation spokesman said yesterday the state agency would not be halting its bridge construction plans in light of the Bruins parade.

Scott Farmelant, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad, which operates the commuter rail system for the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority, said yesterday afternoon he had yet to receive word whether extra trains would be added to the Newburyport commuter rail line in anticipation of the parade. He did say, however, that in past victory parades for the Celtics, Patriots and Red Sox, additional trains were run on the Newburyport rail line.

Boat In Roadway Delays Bay Bridge Traffic - Baltimore, Maryland ...

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, Md. -- Traffic eastbound on Route 50 was delayed temporarily in the noon hour Friday when a boat slipped off a trailer, partially blocking one of the travel lanes of the roadway.

WBAL-AM's Scott Wykoff said the left lane of Route 50 on the approach to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge was blocked until the boat was removed from the roadway.

At one point, the incident caused about a two-mile back up on eastbound Route 50 on the approach to the bridge.

The boat was removed from the roadway about 12:30 p.m.

Click Traffic Pulse anytime, or listen to 1090 WBAL-AM for "traffic on the 5's" as you plan your commute.