Boston University Bridge

Boston University Bridge

The Boston University bridge and Grand Junction Railroad bridge, seen from the Boston side looking upstream.

The Boston University bridge and Grand Junction Railroad bridge, seen from the Boston side looking upstream.
Coordinates 42°21′09″N 71°06′38″W / 42.35238°N 71.11066°W / 42.35238; -71.11066Coordinates: 42°21′09″N 71°06′38″W / 42.35238°N 71.11066°W / 42.35238; -71.11066
Carries Route 2
Crosses Charles River
Locale Boston, Massachusetts to Cambridge, Massachusetts
Characteristics
Design Truss through arch bridge
Material steel
History
Designer Andrew Canzanelli
Opened 1928[1]

The Boston University Bridge, originally the Cottage Farm Bridge[lower-alpha 1] and commonly referred to as the BU Bridge, is a steel truss through arch bridge with a suspended deck carrying Route 2 over the Charles River, connecting Boston to Cambridge, Massachusetts. According to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials route log, the bridge also carries U.S. Route 3 across the river to its southern terminus at U.S. Route 20 (also known as Commonwealth Avenue). However, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation does not consider the bridge to be a part of US 3; it continues the route along Memorial Drive in Cambridge until it meets Route 2A at the end of the Harvard Bridge.

It was renamed for Boston University, which lies at the south end of the bridge, in 1949.[1]

Construction

The BU Bridge was built in 1928, on a design by Andrew Canzanelli,[2] replacing an 1850s drawbridge[1] known as the Brookline Bridge.[3] Canzanelli also designed the Weeks footbridge and the first shell constructed on the Esplanade.[2]

The bridge crosses diagonally over an older, now single-tracked railroad-only bridge carrying the Grand Junction Line. This bridge, formerly owned by CSX Transportation, was purchased by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for the MBTA in 2010. The long-postponed Urban Ring mass transit project is expected to include a bridge at or near this location, to carry the planned route across the Charles River.

During the period of planning for the Inner Belt, the BU Bridge represented the planned crossing point of the highway from Boston to Cambridge. Several plans were discussed for the area; had the expressway been built over the river, the bridge would have been demolished and replaced with a high-level highway overpass, while if the road had been built as a tunnel, the bridge would have been left standing as a crossing for surface route traffic.

Rehabilitation

As of 2008, the bridge deck, including the sidewalks and vehicular surface, were in severe disrepair; the water below was visible through holes in the deck, and the iron stairs leading from Storrow Drive were rusted through.[2] These deficiencies triggered the bridge to be categorized as "structurally deficient" under the federal NBIS standards. Nevertheless, the main structural elements of the bridge have been determined to be sound.

The approximately twenty million dollar rehabilitation project has been among the first undertaken in the Commonwealth's Accelerated Bridge Program by the bridge owner, the Department of Conservation and Recreation.

As of June 2008, one traffic lane and the west-side sidewalk had been closed so that this work could begin. The project was done in 3 phases to keep traffic open throughout construction. The project was projected to wrap up in late November 2011.[1]

On December 21, 2011, the project was substantially complete and the bridge was opened in its final configuration, with one lane entering the bridge in each direction, transitioning on the bridge to two lanes exiting. Two 5-foot bike lines are provided alongside the sidewalks.[4]

The view of Boston from the bridge

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Cottage Farm is the name of a neighborhood in Brookline

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Boston University Bridge Rehabilitation Project" (pdf). Boston, Massachusetts: Department of Conservation and Recreation. 2009-06-30. Retrieved 2009-07-16.
  2. 1 2 3 Crimaldi, Laura (2007-08-05). "BU eyesore considered safe". Boston, Massachusetts: Boston Herald. Archived from the original on 2007-08-12. Retrieved 2009-07-16.
  3. ↑ http://www.communityheritagemaps.com/cambridge_1873/cambridge_1873_zoomify/n.html
  4. ↑ http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/charlesriverbridges/BostonUniversityBridge.aspx

External links


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