Big Dig shutdown affecting businesses
TEXT OF STORY
SCOTT JAGOW: The guy in charge of the Big Dig in Boston said yesterday he’s resigning.That project has been one disaster after another. The worst of it came this month, falling concrete killed a woman. Now, two main tunnels to the airport are closed and that’s changing the way people do business. More now from Steve Tripoli.
STEVE TRIPOLI: The US Postal Service is adding an hour of travel time for each of 30 tractor-trailers it sends to Logan daily.
FedEx is asking customers around the region to drop off overnight packages earlier.
Spokesman Mark Giuffre says Boston’s traffic snarls have forced the costly choice on the United Parcel Service.
MARK GIUFFRE: “In some cases what we’ve been doing over the last weeks is actually flying an early plane in a smaller jet, and then follow it up with our regularly scheduled jet.”
These carriers have to get packages to their hub cities if they’re to make next-day deliveries nationwide.
They’re not the only ones paying.
Taxi drivers who often make several airport runs a day have lost their quickest route.
Tens of thousands of airline passengers are being forced to leave for their flights extra early.
And no one knows when the tunnels of America’s most-expensive public works project ever will be safe to reopen.
I’m Steve Tripoli for Marketplace.
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