Boston University Bridge

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The Boston University bridge and Grand Junction Railroad bridge, seen from the Boston side looking upstream.
The Boston University bridge and Grand Junction Railroad bridge, seen from the Boston side looking upstream.

The Boston University Bridge, originally the Cottage Farm Bridge[1], is a bridge carrying Route 2 over the Charles River connecting Boston to Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is named for Boston University, which lies at the south end of the bridge. It was built in 1927, on a design by Andrew Canzanelli. Canzanelli designed the Weeks footbridge and the first shell constructed on the Esplanade.[2]

The bridge crosses diagonally over an older bridge carrying the CSX Transportation Grand Junction Line.

Contrary to popular myth, the bridge is not the only place in the world where a boat can sail under a train driving under a car driving under an airplane. Other such places include the Steel Bridge, in Portland, and the 25 de Abril Bridge, in Lisbon.

During the period of planning for the Inner Belt, the BU Bridge represented the planned crossing point of the highway from Boston to Cambridge. Several plans were discussed for the area; had the road been built over the river, the bridge would have been demolished and replaced with a high-level highway overpass, while if the road had been built as a tunnel, the bridge would have been left standing as a crossing for surface route traffic.

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[edit] Rehabilitation

The BU Bridge is undergoing a planned renovation. The contractor is STV Inc. of Boston. The bridge, particularly the pedestrian facilities, are in severe disrepair, . The river is visible through holes in the deck and the iron stairs leading from Storrow Drive are rusted through.[3] Nevertheless, the Commonwealth claims that the bridge is structurally sound.


[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Cottage farm is the name of a neighborhood in Brookline.
  2. ^ Crimaldi , Laura. BU eyesore considered safe, Boston Herald. (Aug. 5, 2007).
  3. ^ Crimaldi, Laura, supra.

[edit] External links


 
Crossings of the Charles River
Upstream
Grand Junction Railroad Bridge
CSX Transportation		 Boston University Bridge
 Downstream
Harvard Bridge
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