#BOSTON UNDERPASS ART CUT DOWN ON CRIME DRIVERS#
#BOSTON UNDERPASS ART CUT DOWN ON CRIME FULL#

“The work is pretty straightforward … it’s just the amount.” “There is some extra work that the contractor’s dealing with, but I wouldn’t call it unforeseen,” MassDOT District 6 Highway Director John McInerney told reporters as the skies opened up near the tunnel’s entrance. Project officials from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation led a group of reporters through the tunnel on Tuesday, showing what has been done since the around-the-clock closure went into effect July 5, and what more needs to be done. State transportation officials estimate a third of this summer’s work is done, with just over five weeks until the expected completion date of Aug. Using this design on the back span allowed southbound traffic to use the existing connection to Leverett Circle during construction.Three weeks into the eight-week long closure of the Sumner Tunnel, workers remain busy installing massive arches that will strengthen the structure’s worn out ceiling and enhance its ventilation.

Single planes of cables support these spans. The back spans on the land side of the towers measure 267 feet on the downtown side, and 420 feet on the Charlestown side. Steel floor beams, which support the main span, are extended out to support the cantilevered lanes. Girders, floor beams, and two planes of cables support the bridge's 745-foot-long, 183-foot-wide main span. It also provides the bridge's unique, asymmetrical design. The cantilevered part accommodates northbound traffic from the Sumner Tunnel and the North End. The bridge carries 10 lanes of traffic eight lanes passing through the legs of the twin towers and two cantilevered on the east side. It then crosses the river to make connections with both I-93 and Route 1. The bridge, at 1,432 feet long, emerges from the underground Central Artery near the TD Garden at Causeway Street.

#BOSTON UNDERPASS ART CUT DOWN ON CRIME FULL#

The bridge's cables - which suggest a ship in full sail - also evoke the history of East Boston as a center of shipbuilding. It serves as a permanent memorial to a man who bridged many gaps.

Along with the Battle of Bunker Hill, the bridge is also dedicated to the life of civil rights activist Lenny Zakim. This is in reference to the shape of the Bunker Hill Monument in neighboring Charlestown. Swiss bridge designer Christian Menn conceived the bridge with inverted Y-shaped towers. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge fuses Boston's future with its historic past. This helped revive an area long abandoned under the shadow of the upper and lower deck. Together, these bridges more than doubled the cross-river capacity to 14 lanes.Īs part of the bridge construction, the CA/T Project developed 40 acres of new park land on the riverbanks below. The Leverett Circle Connector Bridge carries traffic to and from Storrow Drive and Leverett Circle. The CA/T Project also constructed a parallel four-lane bridge. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge replaced a deteriorating six lane double-deck bridge demolished in spring 2004. Even before it opened, the bridge became known as a spectacular new landmark gateway to downtown Boston. The remaining two lanes opened in early 2005. Four lanes of I-93 Southbound opened in December 2003. Four lanes of I-93 Northbound opened to traffic in March 2003. It is the first in the United States with an asymmetrical, hybrid design. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge, is the widest cable-stayed bridge in the world. It then crosses the Charles River on an elegant 10-lane, cable-stayed bridge. Tunnel surfaces near the TD Garden at Causeway Street. It required tunnel jacking, constructing a casting basin for immersed tube tunneling, and cut-and-cover tunnel construction. The construction of the I-90 Extension involved some of the most complicated engineering. This area features the new Massachusetts Convention Center. The new I-90 interchange in South Boston also provides direct access to the center of a vital new development area, the Boston seaport.

#BOSTON UNDERPASS ART CUT DOWN ON CRIME DRIVERS#

This direct, 3.5 mile route to the airport saves drivers as much as 45 minutes off the previous route.

Motorists from south and west of Boston now have direct access to Logan Airport and Massachusetts' North Shore via I-90 eastbound. In Massachusetts, the MassPike now runs 138 miles from the New York border to Route 1A in East Boston.Īs a result of the extension completion, the MassPike now runs through to the Ted Williams Tunnel. Now, I-90 runs from Seattle, Washington to Logan International Airport in East Boston. The Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90) Extension opened to traffic on January 18, 2003.

Boston underpass art cut down on crime