Photo courtesy of the MBTA

State officials want to make a new Silver Line bus “shortcut” permanent after test runs showed it reduced travel times by several minutes.

Silver Line vehicles going toward Logan International Airport used an emergency access ramp in the Seaport District to get around traffic and onto Interstate 90 in late August.

Buses averaged savings of 3 to 8 minutes compared to trips that did not use the ramp, but some saw times up to 17 minutes shorter, officials said during a presentation on Monday. However, the ramp can only be used by the Silver Line in the afternoon because eastbound I-90 traffic is traveling too fast at other times for buses to merge safely, officials told the Department of Transportation and MBTA boards.

Traffic congestion is a significant problem in the Seaport, in part thanks to its rapid growth.

The MBTA and MassDOT Highway Division recommended adding the shortcut as a permanent Silver Line feature, but flagged a handful of issues that must first be addressed, such as a wall in front of the nearby State Police barracks that obstructs views and the chance that more than one vehicle is using the ramp at a time. Officials were asked to investigate if the wall could be removed or shortened and the feasibility of adding signage and vehicle detection to improve multi-purpose use of the emergency access ramp in the future.