Memorial Drive (Cambridge)

Memorial Drive

Charles River Road
Maintained by	Massachusetts DCR
Length	3.9 mi[1][2][3] (6.3 km)
Coordinates	42°21′47″N 71°06′58″W / 42.36306°N 71.11611°W / 42.36306; -71.11611Coordinates: 42°21′47″N 71°06′58″W / 42.36306°N 71.11611°W / 42.36306; -71.11611
West end	US 3 / Route 2 in Cambridge
Major junctions	Route 2A in Cambridge
East end	Route 3 in Cambridge

Memorial Drive along the Charles River at the Longfellow Bridge facing Boston's John Hancock Tower

Memorial Drive runs along the north bank of the Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is designated as U.S. Route 3 or Massachusetts Route 3 for its entire length, and Massachusetts Route 2 over the portion west of the Boston University Bridge.

History

Formerly known as Charles River Road, the road was officially renamed "Memorial Drive" in 1923,^[4] when Charles River Park was taken over by the Metropolitan District Commission. It is named in honor of those who died in World War I.^[5]

Route description

Memorial Drive begins in West Cambridge at a three-way junction (a former rotary) with Greenough Boulevard (which continues roughly westward along the river and provides access to the Eliot Bridge) and the Fresh Pond Parkway, which runs roughly north. It proceeds generally southward, following the sinuous curves of the river, from which it is separated by a strip of parkland that varies considerably in its width. In the western stretch it has four undivided lanes, two in each direction (although parking is permitted on the outer westbound lane for a short section west of JFK Street). After crossing River Street it turns more eastward at the Magazine Street beach, with Massachusetts Route 2 diverging southward at a rotary-like interchange with overpass to cross the BU Bridge. Soon afterward the road is lined on the north by the buildings of the main Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) campus. A grassy median is introduced along this stretch, and the road crosses under Massachusetts Avenue, with ramps providing limited interchange options. The grassy median continues to divide the road until its end near Kendall Square at the Longfellow Bridge, where it continues as Edwin H. Land Boulevard. The median, where present, has occasional opportunities for reversing direction.

Memorial Drive, like the parkways along the opposite (Boston) side of the river, is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (the successor to the Metropolitan District Commission). In keeping with the recreational mission, the section of Memorial Drive from Western Avenue to the split by Mount Auburn Hospital, at Gerry's Landing Road, is closed to motor vehicles on Sundays in the summer to allow for pedestrian and non-motorized users. The closure is in effect from 11 am to 7 pm starting the last Sunday of April until the second Sunday of November.^[6]

A median near Massachusetts Avenue requires executing a so-called Michigan left for certain turns.

In 2003 a two-mile section of Memorial Drive was reconstructed as part of the DCR's Historic Parkways Initiative.

Major intersections

The entire route is in Cambridge, Middlesex County.

Location	mi[3]	km	Destinations	Notes
West Cambridge	0.0	0.0	US 3 north / Route 2 west / Greenough Boulevard / Fresh Pond Parkway	Western terminus; western terminus of concurrency with US 3 / Route 2
Riverside	0.7	1.1	John F. Kennedy Street – Harvard Square
	1.4	2.3	Western Avenue to I-90 (Mass PIke)	To Western Avenue Bridge
Cambridgeport	2.2	3.5	Route 2 east – Cambridgeport, Central Square	Interchange; eastern terminus of concurrency with Route 2; to BU Bridge
MIT	3.2	5.1	Route 2A (Massachusetts Avenue) – Boston US 3 north / Route 3 south	Interchange with Michigan lefts; to Harvard Bridge US 3 becomes Route 3
	3.7	6.0	Wadsworth Street – Kendall Square
	3.8	6.1	Edwin H. Land Boulevard east – Kendall Square	Interchange
	3.9	6.3	Route 3 south (Longfellow Bridge) – Boston	Eastern terminus; eastern terminus of concurrency with Route 3
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Route transition

See also

• Soldiers Field Road and Storrow Drive, on the Boston side of the river
• Charles River Bike Path
• List of crossings of the Charles River
• Charles River Reservation#Riverbend Park
• Charles River Reservation

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Memorial Drive (Cambridge).

Streets and squares in Boston Streets Arborway Atlantic Avenue Beacon Street Bennington Street Blue Hills Parkway Bowdoin Street Boylston Street Brattle Street Brookline Avenue Charles Street Columbus Avenue Commonwealth Avenue Congress Street Court Street Day Boulevard Dorchester Avenue Federal Street Fenway Franklin Street Gallivan Boulevard Hanover Street Huntington Avenue Jamaicaway Massachusetts Avenue Melnea Cass Boulevard Memorial Drive Milk Street Morrissey Boulevard Morton Street New Chardon Street Newbury Street North Street Park Street Park Drive Riverway School Street Soldiers Field Road State Street Stony Brook Reservation Parkways Storrow Drive Summer Street Tremont Street Truman Parkway Union Street Veterans of Foreign Wars Parkway Washington Street West Roxbury Parkway Winter Street Yawkey Way Squares, circles, crossings and corners Andrew Square Blackstone Square Brigham Circle Central Square Chester Square City Square Cleveland Circle Codman Square Copley Square Day Square Dewey Square Dock Square Downtown Crossing Dudley Square Egleston Square Fields Corner Franklin Square Haymarket Square Hyde Square Jackson Square Kenmore Square Louisburg Square Maverick Square Packard's Corner Park Square Peabody Square Post Office Square Roxbury Crossing Sullivan Square Teele Square Thompson Square Union Square Uphams Corner Italics denote streets that no longer exist. See also Neighborhoods in Boston Transportation in Boston