Examining the Esplanade
July 9, 2012
We hope you all had a great July 4th. As Rick noted last week, Boston is famous for its Independence Day celebrations. And while we focused on the harbor last week, today we’re going to go a little up the Charles and look at a major change coming to the iconic bridge overlooking the Esplanade, home to Boston’s famous Pops concert and fireworks display. One of the prime spots for fireworks watching, the Longfellow Bridge is shut down to car traffic on July 4. It’s a good thing, because you can’t fit very many pedestrians on the bridges narrow sidewalks. Fortunately, that’s slated to change as part of a major project to rehabilitate the Longfellow.
In fact, preliminary work on that project has been underway for over a year, as crews have been cleaning the bridge’s granite and testing its steel superstructure. That latter step was essential to ensure the structural integrity of the bridge, and to earn the go-ahead from federal officials. The project is about to enter a new phase, as MassDOT gears up to select a team to design and build the project. The design/build team selection process is intended to last until September, when the team that will execute the work will be chosen. If all goes according to schedule, the team will begin major reconstruction of the bridge early in 2013, aiming for completion by the end of 2016.
Because the Longfellow is an historic bridge, designers need to hew close to the original dimensions. But a lot of thought has gone in to reallocation the existing space to accommodate all road users. Pedestrians will see sidewalks on both sides of the bridge widened, and cyclists will enjoy more generous bike lanes. Most significantly, one lane of automobile traffic is being removed going from Boston into Cambridge. The project will also include a new pedestrian bridge that will improve access to the Esplanade from Charles Circle.
That’s the “what” of the project. As for the “how”, the roadway deck and elements of the supporting structure will be replaced in phases so that Red Line trains can continue to run during rush hour. With MGH at one foot of the bridge, maintaining access for emergency vehicles is essential as well. With all this to consider, traffic management is going to be a challenge. The current plans call for automobile access in only one direction for most of the construction period, but the possibility of increased two way access will be explored.
Management of traffic has been a major concern as has maintaining pedestrian and bicycle access across the bridge throughout construction. MassDOT has established standards for traffic management and will encourage the design/build teams to improve upon the management strategies as part of the request for proposals process getting underway. Management strategies include improving movement of traffic on alternate routes by employing police details at critical intersections, monitoring traffic performance, and adjusting traffic signal timing to improve efficiency and reduce delays at critical intersections.
Here at ABC we've been keeping close tabs on the work, commenting on the Environmental Analysis, meeting with MassDOT officials, and reviewing project status in our Transportation & Construction Committee along with other projects in the Charles River Basin. At the next meeting of our committee on Wednesday, July 11, we will continue that review, offering comments on how to best carry out the work. We will keep you informed as the project continues.
