Central Artery

Edit links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Main articles: Interstate 93, U.S. Route 1 in Massachusetts, and Massachusetts Route 3

Central Artery

John F. Fitzgerald Expressway
Map
Central Artery highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by
Charlestown
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMassachusetts
Highway system

The Central Artery (officially the John F. Fitzgerald Expressway) is a section of

freeway in downtown Boston, Massachusetts; it is designated as Interstate 93, US 1 and Route 3
.

The original Artery, constructed in the 1950s, was named after

O'Neill Tunnel, while the original Artery was demolished and replaced with the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, named after the daughter of John F. Fitzgerald and the mother of John F. Kennedy
.

The Central Artery runs from the

Metropolitan Highway System
.

History

A 1920 plan for Boston's Central Artery, based on the West Side Elevated Highway
Traffic on the former Central Artery at mid-day (Demolished in 2003)

A 1926 state report on rapid transit expansion recommended the conversion of 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

Southwest Expressway would have been the route of Interstate 95
from Canton into Boston, and would have tied into the Inner Belt of I-695.

Modifications of the above-ground Artery,

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, which required traffic coming from Storrow Drive
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, new lighting, boardwalks, murals, and 175 parking spaces. The artwork in the public space was created by street artists from around the United States.[6]

Exit lists

Southbound Interstate 93 beneath the streets of Boston

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
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

Central Artery exit towards Oliver Street, near Two International Place, overlooking Custom House Tower, 2002

The entire route was in Boston, Suffolk County.

LocationmikmExitDestinationsNotes
Southeast Expressway
18
Massachusetts Avenue – Roxbury
 / Andrew Square / South Bay Center		Southbound exit and northbound entrance
19East Berkeley Street / Broadway (northbound) / Albany Street (southbound)Berkeley Street is former Dover Street
20
I-90 west – Downtown Crossing, Worcester
Northbound and southbound entrance; former exit for Kneeland Street pre-I-90
Chinatown
Southbound exit and northbound entrance; former northbound exit for Lincoln Street
Financial District22 South StationNo northbound exit
23Atlantic Avenue / Northern Avenue / High Street / State StreetSigned southbound for High Street only
Dock Square
 / Clinton Street		Former southbound exit and northbound entrance; closed pre-Big Dig construction
24
Government Center
Government Center
No northbound entrance; no southbound signage for Causeway Street
26
 Route 3 north (Storrow Drive) – Cambridge, North Station		Route 3 leaves Central Artery; signed southbound for Storrow Drive only
Charles RiverCharlestown High Bridge
Charlestown27
 US 1 north (Tobin Bridge) – Revere		US 1 leaves Central Artery
–
Northern Expressway
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Post-Big Dig

The entire route is in Boston, Suffolk County. Exit numbers on I-93 will eventually change to a mileage-based exit numbering as part of Massachusetts Exit Renumbering Project.[7]


LocationmikmOld exitNew exitDestinationsNotes
Southeast Expressway
2016
Logan Airport, Worcester, South Station
Northbound exit and southbound entrance; exits 134A/C on I-90
— South Station / AirportNorthbound left exit and southbound left entrance. HOV restrictions from I-93 north were lifted by MassDOT.[8]
South end of the
Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. Tunnel
Financial District17.25327.76620A16A South StationSouthbound exit and northbound entrance; exit 134A on I-90
20B16A
I-90 / Mass Pike west / Albany Street[9]
Southbound exit and northbound entrance; exit 134B on I-90
16.69426.86622–Surface Road – ChinatownSouthbound entrance only
17.34027.9062317Government CenterNorthbound exit and southbound entrance via North Street
17.48728.1432316BPurchase StreetSouthbound exit and entrance
Government Center17.87428.76524A17AGovernment CenterSouthbound exit only
24B17B
 Route 1A north (Callahan Tunnel) – Airport		Southbound exit and northbound entrance
North end of the
Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. Tunnel
Charles RiverLeonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge
Leverett Connector
; signed as Storrow Drive northbound; Route 3 leaves Central Artery
18.60329.9392719
 US 1 north (Tobin Bridge) – Revere		Northbound exit and southbound entrance; US 1 leaves Central Artery
–
Northern Expressway
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Numbering

The elevated Central Artery around 1999, on the lower left

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

C37
south from the Sumner Tunnel.

By 1969,

Southeast Expressway
.

In 1974, I-95 was canceled through Boston (cancelling its approach from

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.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Office of Transportation Planning Roads (June 2008). "MassGIS". Executive Office of Transportation.
  2. ^ "Boston's Big Dig finally opens to public". NBC News. Associated Press. December 20, 2003. Retrieved November 13, 2008.
  3. ^ Office of Transportation Planning (2007). "Road Inventory". Executive Office of Transportation. Archived from the original on September 27, 2006.
  4. hdl:2027/mdp.39015049422689
    .
  5. ^ "John F. Fitgerald Expressway". The Roads of Metro Boston. Self-published.
  6. ^ Logan, Tim (September 7, 2017). "Boston gets an artsy new public space in a former no-man's land". The Boston Globe. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  7. ^ "I-93 Corridor". MassDOT Exit Numbering. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  8. ^ Mass.gov. "About the Bypass Road and Logan/Route 1A Express Lane pilot project". Archived from the original on October 23, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  9. ^ Google (October 2013). "MA-3". Google Street View. Google. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
  10. ^ Google (September 2013). "I-93". Google Street View. Google. Retrieved August 23, 2014.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John F. Fitzgerald Expressway.
KML file (edit • help)
Template:Attached KML/Central Artery
KML is from Wikidata
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Central_Artery&oldid=1222339463"