The two structures on either side of Charlestown are both in varying stages of reconstruction.
Currently, Charlestown is sandwiched between two bridges that are in varying stages of reconstruction—the Alford Street/Route 99 bridge to the north, heading into Everett, and the North Washington Street bridge to the south, heading into Boston’s North End. Both appear to be under construction, but to those who pass over the bridges daily it may be unclear exactly what work is being done. So what is the actual status of the two projects? For the answer, Patch turned to Para Jayasinghe, city engineer for the Boston Public Works Department. Both bridges are owned by the City of Boston, but redevelopment is being managed through the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, or MassDOT. North Washington Street Bridge Despite appearances, the…
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The structure was preceded by the Charles River and Warren bridges.
Connecting the new settlement of Charlestown with the Boston mainland was paramount. As early as 1630 a ferry carried passengers between the two points. By 1781 there were four boats, two docked at each side of the Charles River. The ferry was run by Harvard College. In 1786, when the Charles River Bridge opened, there were 17,000 people living in Boston and 1,200 in Charlestown. Perhaps the first public bridge in the country, the Charles River Bridge was built as a toll bridge with private funds. According to "The Ferry, the Charles-River Bridge and the Charlestown Bridge," published in the late 1800s by the Boston Transit Commission, to cross the bridge each foot passenger paid 2/3 of a penny; one person and one horse paid 2 pence and 2/…
Mary Kay Donovan
11:59 am on Monday, March 11, 2013
Dan - I think it is called a "center swing" bridge. I need to look up the technical name. I also need to contact MassDOT to see their plans. There is a precedent for this and it is the Congress St. Bridge. However, that is only for pedestrians. There was a up "to do" to save that bridge. This is a different situation as it is for vehicles mainly and not just for bikes/people. I will do some … more ›