Tag Archives: Northern Avenue Bridge

0 Northern Avenue Bridge Renovation Billed as ‘Postcard for Boston’

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Seaport Bridge on Northern Ave

Credit: Boston Globe

Boston Seaport continues to be a destination for those who want to live, work and play in Boston’s newest neighborhood. The result of this influx has been traffic and headache. The Northern Avenue Bridge rehab won’t reduce traffic, but it will add a vibrant pedestrian connection back to the Financial District.

According to the Boston Globe, “the City of Boston has come up with this concept: an elevated, steel-truss bridge with dedicated lanes for pedestrians, bicyclists, and cars. The fixed span could be covered, and piers could be built to extend over the water. Cafes, shops, and public art could also line the bridge.”

‘It has the potential of being one of those places that serves as a postcard for Boston,’ said Rick Dimino, the president of A Better City, a Boston business group, and chair of the city’s advisory task force on the bridge.

The full Globe article is available on its website, here.

 

 

 

 

 

0 Permit Application Filed to Dismantle Northern Avenue Bridge

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Boston Seaport Bridge under construction

Credit: The Boston Globe

The Northern Ave. Bridge is closer to becoming a memory, once joining the Financial District to the Seaport.  When it was built it would have been hard to imagine that it would come to connect two vibrant, non-industrial areas of our waterfront. Let’s hope the city moves forward with a replacement to assist in the congestion of success that has occurred.

From the Boston Globe:

In a new permit application filed with the Army Corps of Engineers, the agency that oversees the waterway, the city proposes dismantling the bridge by disconnecting its three spans and transporting the pieces via barge to a city-owned storage yard in East Boston.

Full dismantling of the structure — which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and beloved by preservationists — could take up to three months, said city engineer Para M. Jayasinghe. It is expected to cost $15 million.

While the bridge is being taken down, the channel would have to be closed to accommodate the work.

 

0 Northern Avenue Bridge will be Restored for Motor Vehicle Traffic

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northern avg bridge leads to seaport office buildings in Boston

Credit: B&T

The Northern Avenue bridge built in 1908 is recommended to get another lease on life.  The bridge is one of the last remaining swing bridges in New England and is an engineering marvel to watch when it’s in motion.

The bridge was not only designed for pedestrians and cars, but also the Union Freight Railroad.

A study on the Seaport, referenced in Banker&Tradesman, cites the following:

The overall volume of commutes into the Seaport will increase 63 percent by 2035…The study committee’s consensus: restoring the three-lane bridge, with one lane dedicated for motor vehicles. Pedestrian and bicycle access also would be preserved.

“There was some concern in the pedestrian and bicycling community about opening it up to traffic,” said Rick Dimino, CEO of Boston-based planning organization A Better City Inc. “But at the end of the day, there was pretty substantial support that the bridge needs to be opened up to traffic again.”

 

0 Northern Avenue Bridge Closure Impacting Local Businesses

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View of the northern avenue bridge in Boston illuminated by purple lights at night

Credit: The Boston Globe

How do you get from the Financial District to the Seaport?  This question sounds simple enough; drive, public transit or walk.  All three have their challenges and with the closure of the Northern Avenue bridge, some pedestrians and business are feeling the pinch.

A recent Boston Globe article assessed the impact the bridge closing is having on local businesses:

“The short answer is yes, it has,” says Alex Blake, director of operations at The Barking Crab, when asked if the closure of the footbridge has affected business. “Our pedestrian business. The Northern Avenue Bridge was an easier bridge to cross than the Moakley Bridge is. We are more difficult to find, because the Northern Ave. Bridge would drop people right off at our front door.”

You can read the full article on the Boston Globe’s website.

0 Will Boston Restore Northern Avenue Bridge?

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We need to continue to invest in our cities infrastructure to ensure we can service both the day time and bedtime communities.  Simply put, without access people will go elsewhere.

old norther ave bridge at night

Credit: Boston Globe

The Boston Globe offered this image:

the sound you just heard was the unmistakable sloshing of preservationists paddling up Fort Point Channel coming to the rescue of a bridge that has long served as a historical gateway between the Financial District and the South Boston Waterfront. We may never get the tens of millions of dollars needed to restore the bridge, but at least we had fun dreaming about it.