The Leonard P. Zakim () Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge (also known as “The Zakim”) is a

cable-stayed bridge A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, normally forming a fan-like pattern ...

completed in 2003 across the

Charles River The Charles River ( Massachusett: ''Quinobequin)'' (sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles) is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton to Boston along a highly meandering route, that doubles b ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. It is a replacement for the Charlestown High Bridge, an older

truss bridge A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

constructed in the 1950s. The bridge and connecting tunnel were built as part of the

Big Dig The Central Artery/Tunnel Project (CA/T Project), commonly known as the Big Dig, was a megaproject in Boston that rerouted the Central Artery of Interstate 93 (I-93), the chief highway through the heart of the city, into the 1.5-mile (2.4&n ...

, the largest

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-acces ...

construction project in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The bridge's unique styling quickly became an

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

for Boston, often featured in the backdrop of national news channels, to establish location, and included on tourist souvenirs. The bridge is commonly referred to as the "Zakim Bridge" or "Bunker Hill Bridge" by residents of nearby Charlestown. The

Leverett Circle Connector Bridge The Leverett Circle Connector Bridge is a highway bridge over the Charles River, carrying two lanes each of northbound and southbound traffic. It connects to Interstate 93 (I-93) in Somerville, Massachusetts (Northern Expressway) at the northern ...

was constructed in conjunction with the Zakim Bridge, allowing some traffic to bypass it.

Design

The bridge concept was designed by Swiss civil engineer

Christian Menn Christian Menn (March 3, 1927 – July 16, 2018) was a renowned Swiss civil engineer and bridge designer. He was involved in the construction of around 100 bridges worldwide, but the focus of his work was in eastern Switzerland, especially in can ...

in collaboration with bridge designer

Miguel Rosales Miguel Rosales (born 1961 in Guatemala) is president and principal designer of Rosales + Partners, an architecture firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. He specializes in bridge aesthetics and design. Some examples of these bridges include; Phy ...

and its design was engineered by American civil engineer Ruchu Hsu with Parsons Brinckerhoff. Wallace Floyd Associates, sub-consultants to Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, was the lead architect/urban designer and facilitated community participation during the design process. The bridge is a

in a harp configuration with cradles carrying each strand through their pylon. The main portion of the Zakim Bridge carries four lanes each way (northbound and southbound) of Interstate 93 (

concurrent Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...

with

U.S. Route 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, making ...

) between the Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill Jr. Tunnel and the elevated highway to the north. Two additional lanes are

cantilevered A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cant ...

outside the cables, which carry northbound traffic from the Sumner Tunnel and North End on-ramp. These lanes merge with the main highway north of the bridge. I-93 heads toward

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

as the "Northern Expressway", and US 1 splits from the

Interstate The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...

and travels northeast toward Massachusetts' North Shore communities, crossing the

Mystic River The Mystic River is a riverU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 in Massachusetts, in the United States. In Massachusett, means "large estuary," alluding to t ...

via the

Tobin Bridge The Maurice J. Tobin Memorial Bridge (formerly the Mystic River Bridge) is a cantilever truss bridge that spans more than two miles (3 km) from Boston to Chelsea over the Mystic River in Massachusetts. The bridge is the largest in New Eng ...

. The 1975-built MBTA Orange Line's Haymarket North Extension tunnel lies beneath the bridge.

Dedication

The bridge was dedicated on October 4, 2002, in a ceremony held on the new span. The dedication speakers included members of Zakim's family, government officials, and a performance of the song " Thunder Road" by Bruce Springsteen. Introducing the song, Springsteen said about Zakim, "... I knew him a little bit during the last year of his life, he was one of those people whose, intensity, inner spirit you could feel even when he was very ill, ... we honor his memory obviously not with this beautiful bridge, very lovely, but by continuing on in his fight for social justice." The bridge's full name commemorates Boston area leader and civil rights activist Leonard P. Zakim who championed "building bridges between peoples", and the Battle of Bunker Hill.

Landscape design and public art

Placement of footings for the Zakim Bridge required environmental permits to relocate areas of open water surface, changing the contour of the

shoreline. The process of landscape design and environmental mitigation under the bridge deck and around the bridge supports allowed for the creation of a new and accessible public landscape designed by Carol R. Johnson Associates. This under bridge landscape contains a series of perforated stainless steel lighting-based public artworks, entitled, ''Five Beacons for the Lost Half Mile.'' Pedestrians and cyclists are able to travel from Charlestown toward Cambridge over the adjacent North Bank Pedestrian Bridge to North Point Park. This bridge is a link in the

Charles River Bike Path The Charles River Bike Path is a mixed-use path in the Boston, Massachusetts area. It is named after the cardiologist Paul Dudley White, a prominent advocate of preventive medicine. His research led him to proclaim frequently "''I'd like to put ...

Gallery

File:Zakim Dedication Plaque.jpg, Dedication plaque for the bridge File:Zakim Bridge from Museum of Science Roof - 2014-02-09.jpg, Nightime view with the

Lechmere Viaduct The Lechmere Viaduct is a concrete arch bridge connecting the West End neighborhood of Boston to East Cambridge, Massachusetts. Opened in 1912, the viaduct carries the MBTA's Green Line over the Charles River. It is adjacent to the Charles Riv ...

File:Zakim bridge6.jpg, Detail of the cabling and tower on the bridge File:26th floor view; Boston's North End.jpg, The bridge and the northern portion of the

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway is a linear park located in several Downtown Boston neighborhoods. It consists of landscaped gardens, promenades, plazas, fountains, art, and specialty lighting systems that stretch over one mile through Chin ...

File:Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge Southbound.JPG, View traveling south into Boston File:Zakimbridge.jpg, View from

Paul Revere Park Paul Revere Park is a park located on the Charles River in Charlestown, Massachusetts. The park was the first park to open along the "Lost Half Mile" of the Charles River as mitigation for the taking of planned parkland for the construction of t ...

in Charlestown File:ZakimBridgebelow.jpg, View from below File:Zakim Bridge from below, Boston P1010874.jpg, View from a Charles River tour boat

References

External links

The Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge web site

Fact sheet on the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge
*
Description and history
on bostonroads.com
Zakim bridge as viewed from former location of Spaulding Rehab Hospital

Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge , foundations

New Lighting Revealed for Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge

The Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge – Philips Color Kinetics Case Study

Zakim Bridge Turns 15
{{Authority control Bridges completed in 2003 Zakim Transportation in Cambridge, Massachusetts Towers in Massachusetts Cable-stayed bridges in the United States Interstate 93 Landmarks in North End, Boston U.S. Route 1 Buildings and structures in Cambridge, Massachusetts Bridges in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Road bridges in Massachusetts Bridges on the Interstate Highway System Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System Bridges over the Charles River 2003 establishments in Massachusetts Concrete bridges in the United States Steel bridges in the United States