Transportation Pioneers Declare 'Seattle or Bust!'
I filmed Ravi Jain and Stefan Economou as they became the first people to drive on the new connection between the Massachusetts Turnpike and the Ted Williams Tunnel.
Channel 7 in Boston used my footage from inside the car as we entered the tunnel, "That's one small push of the gas pedal for Ravi Jain...."
The story ended up being reported by AP:
Tunnel connecting Ted Williams Tunnel, Turnpike opensLook for the story on Boston TV Stations 4, 5, 7 and 56.
By Associated Press, 1/18/2003 17:49
BOSTON (AP) A pair of self-described ''transportation pioneers'' were the first motorists to drive from Logan International Airport straight to the Massachusetts Turnpike on Saturday, when the new $6.5 billion tunnel connecting the two opened to traffic.
Ravi Jain and his passenger, Stefan Economou, circled Logan and the Ted Williams Tunnel for about four hours, spending $9 on tolls, waiting for the new road to open, before driving westbound at about 4:30 p.m.
Jain's car carried a sign reading ''Seattle or Bust,'' referring to the fact that motorists can now drive Interstate 90 from Logan to Seattle without leaving the highway.
The pair was also the first to drive on the Leverett Connector, the first portion of the Big Dig to open, in 1999.
''The sign made it easy'' for officials to pick them out for the honor of opening the tunnel, said Jain, who lives in Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood.
Did they intend on driving to Seattle after making their way through the new tunnel? ''We could,'' Jain said with a grin, adding that the opening was ''a great day for Boston.''
NECN has coverage online.
Watch for my Canon GL2 and hand enter the frame as Ravi gets interviewed on NECN!