John F. Fitzgerald Expressway
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Central Artery (officially the John F. Fitzgerald Expressway) is the
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 ...
section of
Interstate 93 Interstate 93 (I-93) is an Interstate Highway in the New England states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont in the United States. Spanning approximately along a north–south axis, it is one of three primary Interstate Highways ...
,
US 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway System, United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort ...
and Route 3 through
Downtown Boston Downtown Boston is the central business district of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Boston was founded in 1630. The largest of the city's commercial districts, Downtown is the location of many corporate or regional headquarters; city, c ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
, United States. The modern-day Artery, built as part of the
Big Dig The Big Dig was a megaproject in Boston that rerouted the then elevated Central Artery of Interstate 93 that cut across Boston into the O'Neill Tunnel and built the Ted Williams Tunnel to extend Massachusetts Turnpike, Interstate 90 to Logan I ...
from 1995 until 2003, begins at the Southeast Expressway in the South End. Traveling north, it has an interchange with the east–west
Massachusetts Turnpike The Massachusetts Turnpike (colloquially the "Mass Pike" or "the Pike") is a controlled-access toll road that runs concurrently with Interstate 90 (I-90) in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It the longest Interstate Highway in Massachu ...
(I-90), and travels beneath the
Financial District A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies, and other related finance corporations have their headquarters offices. In major cities, financial districts often host ...
and Government Center through the
O'Neill Tunnel The Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill Jr. Tunnel (colloquially O'Neill Tunnel) is a highway tunnel built as part of the Big Dig in Boston, Massachusetts. It carries the Central Artery underneath downtown Boston, and is numbered as Interstate 93 (I-93), U ...
. Route 3 exits onto the
Leverett Connector The Leverett Circle Connector Bridge is a 1.7 mile-long highway bridge over the Charles River in Boston, Massachusetts, carrying two lanes each of northbound and southbound traffic. It connects to Interstate 93 (I-93) at the northern end (exit 1 ...
within the tunnel in Charlestown; US 1 exits aboveground from the
Zakim Bridge The Leonard P. Zakim () Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge (also known as "The Zakim") is a cable-stayed bridge completed in 2003 across the Charles River in Boston, Massachusetts. It is a replacement for the Charlestown High Bridge, an older truss b ...
onto the
Tobin Bridge The Maurice J. Tobin Memorial Bridge (formerly the Mystic River Bridge) is a cantilever bridge, cantilever truss bridge that spans more than from Charlestown, Boston, Boston to Chelsea, Massachusetts, Chelsea over the Mystic River in Massach ...
, and I-93 continues on the Northern Expressway toward
New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
beyond the bridge. The original Artery, constructed in the 1950s, was named after
John F. Fitzgerald John Francis "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald (February 11, 1863 – October 2, 1950) was an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician from Boston, Massachusetts. Fitzgerald served as mayor of Boston and a member of the United State ...
; it was partly
elevated An elevated railway or elevated train (also known as an el train or el for short) is a railway with the Track (rail transport), tracks above street level on a viaduct or other elevated structure (usually constructed from steel, cast iron, concre ...
and partly
tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...
ed. Its reputation for congestion inspired the local nicknames "The Distressway," "the largest parking lot in the world", and "the other
Green Monster The Green Monster is a popular nickname for the left field wall at Fenway Park, home to the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. The wall is from home plate at the left-field Foul line (baseball), foul line, making it a popular target f ...
" (the paint of the highway girders shared the same color as the left field wall at
Fenway Park Fenway Park is a ballpark located in Boston, Massachusetts, less than one mile from Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home field of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Boston Red Sox. While the stadium was built in 1912, it was substantia ...
). The original Artery was demolished after the O'Neill Tunnel was completed, and was replaced with the
Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway The Rose 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 Chinatown, the ...
, named after the daughter of John F. Fitzgerald and the mother of
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...
.


Description


Route designations

Currently, the Artery is numbered I-93 and US 1 on the whole route, and Route 3 on all but the northernmost section—it leaves at exit 18 (former exit 26). The Artery has had many different route numbers through its history. When first built, the section between the
Sumner Tunnel The Sumner Tunnel is a road tunnel in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It carries traffic under Boston Harbor in one direction, from Logan International Airport and Route 1A in East Boston. The tunnel originally deposited traffic at the ...
and
Storrow Drive Storrow Drive, officially James Jackson Storrow Memorial Drive, is a major crosstown parkway in Boston, Massachusetts, running east–west along the southern bank of the Charles River. It is restricted to cars; trucks and buses are not permitt ...
received the numbers C1 and C9 (city routes of US 1 and Route 9), which were rerouted off local streets. The rest of the highway was unnumbered, despite being closely paralleled by
C37 C37 or C-37 may refer to: Vehicles ;Aircraft * Caudron C.37, a French passenger biplane * Cessna C-37, an American civil utility aircraft * Gulfstream Aerospace C-37A, an American military VIP passenger jet based on the Gulfstream V * Gulfstream ...
south from the Sumner Tunnel. By 1969,
I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...
was assigned to the whole Artery as part of its never-built route through Boston. The "C-prefixed" routes were removed in 1971, with Route C1 becoming part of a realigned US 1, using the Artery between
Storrow Drive Storrow Drive, officially James Jackson Storrow Memorial Drive, is a major crosstown parkway in Boston, Massachusetts, running east–west along the southern bank of the Charles River. It is restricted to cars; trucks and buses are not permitt ...
and the
Sumner Tunnel The Sumner Tunnel is a road tunnel in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It carries traffic under Boston Harbor in one direction, from Logan International Airport and Route 1A in East Boston. The tunnel originally deposited traffic at the ...
. Additionally in 1971, Route 3 was moved from a bypass around downtown to use the Artery south of Storrow Drive and the Southeast Expressway. In 1974, I-95 was canceled through Boston (cancelling its approach from
Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...
through the Southwest Corridor) and was instead rerouted around the city using part of
Route 128 The following highways are numbered 128: Canada * New Brunswick Route 128 * Ontario Highway 128 (former) * Prince Edward Island Route 128 Costa Rica * National Route 128 (Costa Rica), National Route 128 India * National Highway 128 (India) Ja ...
. US 1 was realigned to use the Tobin Bridge and Northeast Expressway, which had been signed as part of I-95; thus US 1 used the Artery north of Storrow Drive. The former alignment of US 1 from Storrow Drive south along the Artery to the Sumner Tunnel became an extended 1A, and I-93 was extended south from Charlestown along the Artery, Southeast Expressway and Route 128 from Braintree to Canton. In 1989, US 1 was moved off the MDC Parkways onto its current alignment along the full Artery. Route 1A was then truncated to the Sumner Tunnel interchange. Signs put up for the new underground Artery only mention I-93, since it is the best-known designation. Older signs may mention only I-93 and US 1 or I-93 and Route 3. A 2008/2009 project to update this signage helped to clear up this potentially confusing situation.


History

A 1926 state report on rapid transit expansion recommended the conversion of the
Atlantic Avenue Elevated The Atlantic Avenue Elevated was an elevated railway around the east side of Downtown Boston, Massachusetts, providing a second route for the Boston Elevated Railway's Main Line Elevated (now the MBTA's Orange Line) around the Washington Stre ...
to an elevated highway; however, it closed in 1938 and was demolished in 1942. The above-ground Artery was built in two sections in the 1950s. First was the part north of High Street and Broad Street to the Tobin Bridge, built between 1951 and 1954. Immediately, residents began to hate the new highway and the way it towered over and separated neighborhoods. Due to this opposition, the southern end of the Central Artery through the South Station area was built underground, through what became known as the
Dewey Square Tunnel The Dewey Square Tunnel in Boston, Massachusetts, is part of Interstate 93 (concurrent with US 1 and Route 3), running under the heart of the city's financial district, including Dewey Square. Built in 1959, it was part of Boston's Central Artery ...
. Eventually, the entire highway was moved underground as part of the Big Dig Project. The Dewey Square Tunnel was the one part of the original Artery not torn down; it now serves southbound traffic. The idea of building the entire Artery underground was first floated in the 1970s emanating from the central artery depression concept developed by the
Boston Transportation Planning Review Boston Transportation Planning Review (BTPR), published in 1972, was a transportation planning program for metropolitan Boston, Massachusetts, which was responsible for analyzing and redesigning the entire area-wide transit and highway system in ...
. The final section through the Dewey Square Tunnel and on to the Southeast Expressway at Massachusetts Avenue opened in 1959. The highway gradually became more and more congested as other highway projects meant to complement the Artery were canceled. These included the Inner Belt project, which would have taken through traffic off the Artery and the
Massachusetts Turnpike The Massachusetts Turnpike (colloquially the "Mass Pike" or "the Pike") is a controlled-access toll road that runs concurrently with Interstate 90 (I-90) in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It the longest Interstate Highway in Massachu ...
Extension coming in from the west. The Southwest Expressway would have been the route of
Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...
from Canton into Boston, and would have tied into the Inner Belt of I-695. Modifications of the above-ground Artery, which was in service until its demolition in 2003 included an additional interchange for the Massachusetts Turnpike (Mass Pike) extension that was completed in 1965, the removal of several on and off-ramps and the reworking in the late 1980s of the Tobin Bridge interchange. The Central Artery North Area (CANA) project placed the above ground ramps from the Artery underground into the City Square Tunnel in Charlestown and resulted in a reworking of the interchange at the north end, placing the northbound offramp from the east side to the west side, and eliminating dangerous weaving across the lanes of the
Charlestown High Bridge The Charlestown High Bridge (referred to as the John F. Fitzgerald Bridge on old AAA Tourbook maps) spanned the Charles River in Boston, Massachusetts and was part of I-93/ US 1 at the north end of the Central Artery. This double-decked ...
, which required traffic coming from
Storrow Drive Storrow Drive, officially James Jackson Storrow Memorial Drive, is a major crosstown parkway in Boston, Massachusetts, running east–west along the southern bank of the Charles River. It is restricted to cars; trucks and buses are not permitt ...
and wanting to go to Charlestown to cross three lanes of traffic in only a tenth of a mile. In September 2017, a new park was opened beneath the Central Artery adjacent to the Ink Block section of Boston's South End. The $8.5 million park has a
dog park A dog park is a park for dogs to exercise and play off-leash in a controlled environment under the supervision of their owners. Description Dog parks have varying features, although they typically offer a fence, separate double-gated entry an ...
, new lighting, boardwalks, murals, and 175 parking spaces. The artwork in the
public space A public space is a place that is open and accessible to the general public. Roads, pavements, public squares, parks, and beaches are typically considered public space. To a limited extent, government buildings which are open to the public, su ...
was created by street artists from around the United States.


Exit lists

The original Central Artery did not have any exit numbers. These were added after the roadway was designated as I-93 in 1974. Many of these exits either do not exist or no longer resemble their original forms. Exits 19, 21, and 25 were completely eliminated. 16 and 18 (formerly exits 20 and 26) were separated northbound and southbound; 16 (former exit 20) northbound uses the old exit 19 location in South Bay, while southbound begins at the portal to the renovated Dewey Square Tunnel (now completely enclosed by Big Dig construction; 18 (former exit 26) northbound begins just shy of the tunnel exit onto the Zakim Bridge, while 18 (former exit 26) southbound is located in Charlestown's Sullivan Square near northbound exit 20 (formerly exit 28) at the portal to the double decked section of I-93 and feeds onto the Leverett Circle Connector bridge. Former exit 22 continued to exist as an offramp to Chinatown from the southbound (former northbound) Dewey Square tunnel until the ramp was closed off in 2004. 23 exists both northbound (now new exit 17) and southbound (now new exit 16B) and leads to the
Scollay Square 300px, Scollay Square, Boston, 19th century (after September 1880) 350px, Scollay Square, Decoration Day, 19th century (after September 1880) Scollay Square (c. 1838–1962) was a city square in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It was named for ...
area. 17A-B southbound (formerly exit 24) now exits to Haymarket Square and MA-1A (the Callahan Tunnel). Much of the reconfiguration of on and offramps (particularly the wide separations of the ramps for exits 16 and 18) was done to move exiting traffic off the mainline of the road, reducing stress on the mainline.


Pre-Big Dig

The entire route was in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, Suffolk County.


Post-Big Dig

The entire route is in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, Suffolk County. Exit numbers on I-93 will eventually change to a mileage-based exit numbering as part of Massachusetts Exit Renumbering Project.


See also

* *


References


External links

{{Attached KML
National Bridge Inventory database
1954 establishments in Massachusetts 2007 disestablishments in Massachusetts Transportation in Boston Roads in Massachusetts U.S. Route 1 Interstate 95 Interstate 93 Demolished highways in the United States Transportation in Suffolk County, Massachusetts