MassDOT’s North Washington Street Bridge design plan.The 100-year-old North Washington Street Bridge that spans Charles River between Charlestown and Boston’s North End is set to get a facelift.
Massachusetts officials have approved a $205 million project to replace the rusty truss bridge, the The Boston Globe reports, launching a grueling five-year period of lane closures and construction that will ultimately install a new bridge between Charlestown and the North End.
Work to replace the bridge will take an estimated five years, beginning this fall and finishing up in August 2023. The old bridge is considered structurally deficient and costs the state more than $1 million a year in maintenance.
According to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s (MassDOT) Project Overview, the new bridge will feature improvements for pedestrians and bicyclists, two vehicle lanes in each direction, and a new bus-only lane to serve buses headed to downtown Boston from the north. The proposed bridge design will also create a more open channel for boats and maintain flood control measures associated with the river’s locks.
