Earlier this month a Public Works Department engineer shared his design plans for reconstructing the North Washington Bridge, also known as the Charlestown Bridge. Though it was reported ground would break for overhauling the rusting, decrepit bridge in 2016, Mayor Marty Walsh will actually be moving forward with the project in 2017.
According to Mayor Walsh spokeswoman Gabrielle Farrell, the project will be advertised beginning in 2016 with the heavy lifting to come the following year. More importantly, Mayor Walsh has approved this plan which also constitutes a big victory for bikers and pedestrians.
“The new design will carry pedestrians, cyclists in dedicated bike lanes, and vehicles across the bridge,” Farrell told me. “The design also includes areas for pedestrians to stop, rest, and take in the view of the City.”
The Massachusetts Highway Division estimates the entire project will cost around $98 million. Opened in 1900, the bridge has sustained detrimental corrosion to the steel supporting its middle lanes, which have since been barricaded from drivers, and has been deemed structurally deficient.
The swing span, which rotates the bridge 90-degrees to allow for the passage of larger vessels along the Charles River below, is inoperable.
The inclusion of wider bike and pedestrian lanes is huge for the Charlestown bridge. Currently the sidewalks are barely able to accommodate foot traffic in either direction on both sides of the street, let alone those cyclists brave enough to ride their bikes across. The deteriorating steel trusses and beams will be gone in lieu of a more welcoming, open-style design.
Preliminary renderings were done by Rosales + Partners architect Miguel Rosales but the design is the brainchild of Public Works engineer Para Jayasinghe.
Two cycle tracks will be implemented, one on either side of the street, each separated by a floral barrier from the ongoing traffic. Sidewalks will be broadened slightly for walkers, and the iconic red stripe representing the Freedom Trail will be painted accordingly.
The Charlestown Bridge offers Boston a chance to truly take the lead when it comes to innovative bike and pedestrian infrastructure. Statistics show that millennials aren’t the only generation increasingly less dependent on cars and neighboring cities in the Greater Metro Area, namely Cambridge and Somerville, are frequently lauded for their bike-friendlieness.
Boston has taken several steps of its own to ensure bike and pedestrian safety. It became the first city in the entire country to equip large municipal trucks with side guards to prevent cyclists and pedestrians from getting pulled underneath should a collision take place.
Sure, that’s a good start. But it’s going to take more than vehicular upgrades to reach the 50 precent bike crash reduction goal by 2020. The Boston Bike Network Plan aims to add 75 miles of city bike routes over the next five years – 21 miles of which will be cycle tracks situated mostly in the downtown area.
“The North Washington Street Bridge is slated to be advertised for construction in 2016 with construction planned to begin in 2017,” confirmed Farrell. “Mayor Walsh has reviewed and approved the design plan for the new bridge, which is an important connection between Charlestown and Downtown Boston.”
