Longfellow Bridge

Infobox Bridge
bridge_name=Longfellow Bridge

---

caption=
official_name=
carries=Route 3, MBTA Red Line
crosses=Charles River
locale=Boston, Massachusetts to Cambridge, Massachusetts
maint=Department of Conservation and Recreation with help from MassHighway
id=
design= steel rib Arch bridge
mainspan=
length=1,768 feet (539 m)
width=
height=
load=
clearance=
below=
traffic=
begin=
complete=
open=August 3, 1906
closed=
toll=
map_cue=
map_

map_text=
map_width=
coordinates= coord|42.361635|N|71.07541|W|region:US_type:landmark
lat=
long=

The Longfellow Bridge, also known to locals as the "Salt and Pepper Bridge" or the "Salt and Pepper Shaker Bridge" due to the shape of its central towers, carries Route 3 and the MBTA's Red Line across the Charles River to connect Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood with the Kendall Square area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. A portion of the elevated Charles/MGH train station also rests upon the eastern end of the bridge. The bridge falls under the jurisdiction and oversight of the state's Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and MassHighway. [ [http://www.mhd.state.ma.us/ProjectInfo/Main.asp?ACTION=ViewProject&PROJECT_NO=604361 Bridge Rehabilitation, Cambridge Street over the Charles River] ] For unknown reasons, the upstream sidewalks are narrower than the downstream. The bridge carries approximately 49,500 cars and 87,000 mass transit passengers every weekday. [http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/08/03/cant_get_there_from_here?mode=PF With bridges shaky, what if Boston lost its link to Cambridge?] Boston Globe, 3 Aug 2008.]

History

The first river crossing at this site was a ferry, first run in the 1630s.

The West Boston Bridge was constructed in 1793. The current bridge was built on the same site. It was originally known as the Cambridge Bridge, but was renamed for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who wrote about the West Boston Bridge in the poem "The Bridge", in 1845. Willam Jackson served as chief engineer and Edmund M. Wheelwright as architect. Wheelwright was inspired by the 1893 Columbian Exposition and was trying to rival the great bridges of Europe. The bridge opened on August 3, 1906, and consists of 11 steel arch spans on masonry piers. The bridge has a total length of convert|1768|ft|m and supports road, subway, pedestrian, and bicycle traffic.

Until 1952, the centermost traffic lanes of the bridge also contained tracks which connected what is now known as the Blue Line, running from crossovers at the Cambridge end to the subway tracks, across the bridge and into Boston to the North Russell Street Incline of the Blue Line subway. Before the Orient Heights Blue Line yards were built, major repairs to that line's trains were done at the Eliot Square shops in Cambridge. [cite book
last = Clarke
first = Bradley H.
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = The Boston Rapid Transit Album
publisher = Boston Street Railway Association
date = 1981
location =
pages = 14
url =
doi =
id =
isbn = ]

On May 1, 2007, a fire broke out under the bridge. Ignited by a cigarette left by vagrants who sometimes stay in the covered crawlspace under the bridge deck, the fire caused the bridge to be shut down to vehicle and train traffic. [ [http://cms.firehouse.com/web/online/News/Cigarette-Blamed-For-Boston-Bridge-Fire/46$54532 Firehouse.com] ] This fire also severed Internet2 connectivity to Boston, causing problems with the Chicago-New York OC-192 route, according to the [http://i2net.blogspot.com/2007/05/question-when-can-cigarette-take-down.html Internet2 blog] .

Past neglect and future rehabilitation

The Longfellow Bridge, like many bridges in the Commonwealth, [cite web |url=http://wbztv.com/local/road.repairs.Pioneer.2.588807.html |title=Report: Mass. Road And Bridge Repair Is Poor |accessdate=2008-09-02 |date=2007-07-31|author=Associated Press |publisher=wbztv.com] is in serious disrepair. "Since 1907, the only major maintenance conducted on the bridge has been a small 1959 rehabilitiation project and lesser repairs done in 2002." [Westerling, David & Steve Poftak, [http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/07/31/a_legacy_of_neglect/ "A Legacy of Neglect"] , "Boston Globe" Op Ed., A11 (Jul 31, 2007).]

In the summer of 2008, the western sidewalk and inner traffic lane were closed, and the Red Line limited to 10 mph, and Fourth of July fireworks watchers banned from the bridge, all over concerns the bridge might collapse under the weight and vibration. The speed restriction was lifted in August 2008, but the lane and sidewalk closures remain.

Engineers estimate rehabilitation could cost more than $200 million, with the project slated to begin in 2010. [Ross, Casey, [http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view.bg?articleid=1065868&srvc=home&position=0/ "Longfellow's long list of woes"] , "Boston Herald" Special Report, (Jan 11, 2008).] Final costs will not be known until workers uncover the bridge and evaluate its pilings. If the maintenance was performed regularly, the total historical cost could have been about $81 million.

On August 4, 2008 Governor Deval Patrick signed into law a $3 billion Massachusetts bridge repair funding package he had sponsored. Part of the bond proceeds are scheduled to be used to pay for rehabilitation of the bridge. [cite web|url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/08/05/patrick_signs_3b_bill_to_fix_bridges/ |publisher=boston.com |author=Viser, Matt |date=2008-08-05 |accessdate=2008-09-11 |title=Patrick signs $3b bill to fix bridges]

In the summer of 2008, two state employees allegedly stole convert|2347|ft|m (linear) of decorative iron trim that had been removed from the bridge for refurbishment and sold it for scrap. The men, one a DCR district manager, were charged with receiving $12,147 for the historic original parapet coping. The estimated cost to remake the pieces, scheduled for replication by 2012, was over $500,000. [cite web|url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/09/12/case_of_the_purloined_ironwork/|publisher=Boston Globe |author=Ebbert, Stephanie |date=2008-09-12 |accessdate=2008-09-12 |title=Case of the purloined ironwork]

Gallery

References

Further reading

* cite book
last = Freeman
first = Dale H.
title = A changing bridge for changing times : the history of the West Boston Bridge, 1793-1907 ; a thesis
publisher = University of Massachusetts Boston
year = 2000
isbn = B0006RH37A

*

External links

*
* [http://www.mhd.state.ma.us/default.asp?pgid=longfellowbridge/longfellow&sid=level2 Restoration of the Longfellow Bridge]
*cite news|url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/01/22/longfellow_bridge_lane_to_close/|title=Longfellow Bridge lane to close|date=January 22, 2006|publisher=The Boston Globe
*cite news|url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/06/06/defects_leads_to_closure_of_a_longfellow_bridge_sidewalk/|title=Defects lead to closure of a Longfellow Bridge sidewalk|date=June 6, 2008|publisher=The Boston Globe
*cite news|url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/06/07/longfellow_bridge_is_off_limits_july_4th/|title=Longfellow Bridge is off-limits July 4th|date=June 7, 2008|publisher=The Boston Globe
*cite news|url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/06/28/two_lanes_closed_on_longfellow_bridge/|title=Two lanes closed on Longfellow Bridge|date=June 26, 2008|publisher=The Boston Globe
* [http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/3219/ "The Bridge", poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]

Crossings navbox
structure = Crossings
place = Charles River
bridge = Longfellow Bridge
bridge signs =
upstream = Harvard Bridge
upstream signs =
downstream = Charles River Dam Bridge
downstream signs =