Storrow’s tunnel set for more repairs

Work will be a 5-year fix before a total overhaul can be completed

Repair work has begun on the Storrow Drive tunnel, long plagued by leaks and structural defects, that will serve as an interim, five-year fix to the decades-old structure on one of Boston’s busiest roadways.

The work began Sunday night. Crews will start out only working from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday night through Friday morning, but later in the summer that work will shift to the daytime when it will be noisier for area residents, according to a spokeswoman for the state’s Department of Conservation & Recreation. This week’s work will mainly consist of installing noise barriers and fencing.

The $11.5 million worth of repairs will include replacing deteriorated concrete in the tunnel’s roof and wall and installing waterproofing and stormwater collection systems. It will last until November, halt for the winter, then begin again in the spring. One eastbound lane will be restricted throughout the project.

But the decades-old tunnel needs to eventually be replaced, and the department is still considering what that fix will be. One option includes building a temporary bypass roadway through the Esplanade — which could save time and money, but would disrupt pedestrians and activities along the Charles River.

DCR Commissioner Richard Sullivan said some of the options under consideration for that project have ranged between $50 and $250 million and between two and at least four years of construction.

“We have committed that after the first of the year, we will go back out to reengage the public about what the larger fix for Storrow Drive and the tunnel will be moving forward,” Sullivan said.