At the June 2017 North End Waterfront Residents’ Association meeting, Nathaniel Curtis spoke about the upcoming North Washington Street Bridge Replacement Project. The project, which could start construction later this year or in early 2018, is expected to last 4 years. As it stands, the current bridge is over a century old and will be replaced with a newer, more modern design set to match that of the Zakim Bridge aesthetically.
(02:30) – Project Goals:
- Replace Structurally Deficient Bridge
- Provide Multi-Modal Bridge as a Complete City Street Over Water
- Improve Deficient Bike and Pedestrian Accommodations
- Improve Intersection Safety and Functionality
- Improve Navigation Channel
- Provide Context Sensitive Bridge Design in an Important Waterfront and Historic Bridge Location
- Provide Visually Appealing Bridge Design Complementing the Zakim Bridge.
- Maintain Traffic, Residential, and Economical Needs During Construction
In addition to the two lanes of traffic on each side, the new bridge will consist of a walking path and bike path on each side, a bus/emergency vehicle lane on the side heading into the North End/West End, and greenery around the sidewalks.
During construction, Mass DOT will implement changeable message signs throughout the surrounding areas along Route 128 to divert non-local traffic away from the bridge. This allows the remaining space on the bridge to be occupied by local traffic and provides emergency vehicle access. Closer to the bridge will also be signage for local traffic information.
(16:03) Residents’ Association questions included in the presentation:
Will any part of the bridge remain open while construction is taking place? If so, will both vehicles and pedestrians be accommodated?
“Generally, there will always be crossings open in both directions, sometimes the lanes will be reduced.”
(16:25) So there are no plans to have the bridge completely shut down at any point in time?
“I wouldn’t say that right now,” said Curtis, the Public Involvement Specialist. “If conditions were to present themselves where the contractor came to us and said, ‘I can greatly cut down the amount of time that a given stage will take by completely shutting the bridge off for a weekend over the summer when volumes drop,’ that would be something that if it gave a significant enough reduction in time, the city and Mass DOT would have a conversation about that. If we can carve two months out of a stage by shutting down for a weekend, thats a trade that most people would want to make.” Curtis then went on to say that if the bridge were to be completely shut off, there would be a “heavy dose of public involvement.”
(17:30) If we had three lanes in each direction, before the middle lane was closed down, why aren’t we going to have three lanes again?
“We’ve chosen to add bicycle paths,” Curtis said. He went on to say that the direction the city is headed towards is one where people are not meeting all of their demands by vehicle trips. Regarding the bus lane, Curtis said, “We are trying to create a situation where that transit option gets a little speed boost, and it becomes more attractive so that we can try to pull some of these cars off the road.” Jump to (19:15) in the video for an explanation of the motor vehicle lanes.
(21:25) Where will any excess traffic be channeled?
“We are developing a Traffic Management Plan to divert regional and optional traffic so local / needed capacity remains.”
(21:35) During what hours of the day will construction take place?
“Typically standard hours (7 AM – 3 PM), but there will be times where the contractor uses double-shift or 24 hr operations to speed construction.”
(22:00) Are there any plans for noise mitigation?
“DOT standards include maximum noise and mitigations; Resident Engineer will be on-site throughout job to monitor and enforce.” Curtis said, “Will you love every minute of it? No. Will you be able to live here? Yes.”
A brief history of the North Washington Street bridge from the presentation:
- 1898: Existing Bridge Constructed
- 1956: Bridge is Reconstructed
- 1961: Swing Span Closed Permanently
- 1977: Elevated Street Railway Structure Removed
- 1992: Adjoining Warehouse Bridge Structure in Charlestown is Replaced
- 2003: Center Truss Bay Lanes Closed
- 2004-2015: Ongoing Maintenance and Repairs
Information on the new North Washington Street Bridge Project, set to be finished in 2021, can be found here. For full coverage, see the video above.
I hate it ok!
And we dont need a bike lane too
We need 3 lanes in both directions ok
If not u will still see backup in the afternoon in ctown and in the a.m. in by the North End ok
U want to know who is not helping u the big guy in city hall ok
He dose not have a clue on what all this is ok
I found it odd that Mr. Curtis did not have a traffic mitigation plan to present to the residents association so I’ll suggest one.
Why not ban all trucks, especially trailer trucks, from using the Charlestown bridge for the duration of this project.
For years trucks have been using the Surface Road, North Washington St and the Charlestown as a shortcut through the city. This allows them to avoid going all the way around the city via route 128 but it makes traffic horrible for those of us who actually live in the North End.
The city traffic department should be all over this.
New bridges, bike lanes, dog parks… the city is taking away the character of the north end. With in the next few years every neighborhood in Boston will look the same. There will be no character
“New bridges, bike lanes, dog parks… the city is taking away the character of the north end” OR these all sound like major improvements, how will there be no character? I doubt the lack of dog parks give the North End “character” these are great and needed improvements, I look forward to a new and safer bridge, bike paths and more parks!
So virtually two lanes are taken away on commercial. It’s now a horror show to negotiate. And new bridge gets three lanes each. This is planning?
two lanes are NOT taken away on Commercial. I drive it everyday and I count 1, 2 on east side and 1,2 on north side. The bridge is not getting three lanes each. Join the planning team and straighten them out rather than start the ball rolling on ensuing complaints about the bridge.
Your not accounting for all the double parking. Which like it or not is part of city living.
Double parking existed before the shift and the bike lane and the removal of 1 lane. The only change is that you can’t park in the bike lane, its illegal, the city needs to start enforcing it.
Agree. But I’m really only seeing three lanes for cars. one lane going towards the Quincy market. And two lanes going towards the Charlestown bridge? On commercial.