Photo courtesy of the MBTA

The Department of Transportation plans to implement a Silver Line ramp shortcut as a permanent feature this spring, less than a year after a pilot program brought significant reductions in travel time.

Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver told the MassDOT Board that staff are working out final details and equipment for the new policy and hope to have the route running in spring 2020.

Using an emergency access ramp in the Seaport District near Silver Line Way to get to the Ted Williams Tunnel, Gulliver said, allowed Silver Line vehicles to get a “huge jump” on traffic that otherwise would have slowed the vehicles down.

Buses will only use the ramp route when traffic is slow, however, as officials say they do not save significant time and struggle to turn off the ramp onto Interstate 90 quickly enough when cars are moving at high speeds. Ordinarily, buses will still have to take a circuitous route to enter the tunnel with regular traffic next to the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

During a pilot program last summer, buses averaged savings of 3 to 8 minutes with some as high as 17 minutes, according to the department.

The pilot program was launched after intense lobbying by advocates at Transit Matters and other organizations.