Longfellow Bridge Rehabilitation Project
MBTA Red Line Weekend Diversion – Saturday, January 11 and Sunday, January 12
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) will close the Longfellow Bridge to all motor vehicle travel, except MBTA buses, on Saturday, November 23 and Sunday, November 24. The closure is to implement Red Line related work associated with ongoing bridge construction. Buses will replace Red Line trains for service between Kendall/MIT Station and Park Street Station, with a stop at Charles/MGH Station. The bus route and stops are shown on the map below.
Bus service will be in place for Boston and Cambridge-bound Red Line customers from the start of service on Saturday to the end of service on Sunday of each weekend. Red Line trains will resume service on Monday morning. The diversion is necessary for MassDOT’s design/build contractor, White-Skanska-Consigli JV, to perform work in close proximity to the Red Line tracks that is not allowed during MBTA service hours. Please visit the MBTA’s service updates webpage for additional information.
MBTA buses will be the only motor vehicles permitted on the bridge. All other motor vehicles including passenger vehicles, trucks and all other buses will need to use one of two routes shown on the attached detour map to reach Boston. One route uses Memorial Drive westbound to make a u-turn at Ames Street for access to Memorial Drive eastbound to Land Boulevard and Charles River Dam Road (Monsignor O’Brien Highway/Route 28) to reach Leverett Circle. A second route uses 3rd Street and Binney Street to reach Land Boulevard. Truck restrictions are in place for Memorial Drive.
Emergency response, bicycle and pedestrian access will be maintained across the bridge during the weekend diversions. Please note: Bicyclists will be asked to walk their bikes on the sidewalk across the Longfellow Bridge to ensure the safety of all bridge users. On Saturday, November 23, there will be alternating single lane closures on Memorial Drive eastbound to accommodate work above the roadway. Pedestrian travel will also be temporarily detoured from the eastbound side of Memorial Drive to the westbound side that day.
The Cambridge-bound detour remains in place using a signed route from Charles Circle following Charles Street to Leverett Circle, Monsignor O’Brien Highway/Charles River Dam Road and Edwin H. Land Boulevard (detour route map is located below).
The Longfellow Bridge, which connects Boston and Cambridge over the Charles River, is being rehabilitated as part of a three and a half year, $255.5 million effort funded through the Patrick Administration’s Accelerated Bridge Program. Rehabilitation of the iconic “salt and pepper” Longfellow Bridge will improve structural integrity and capacity, meet modern codes, including ADA accessibility, and create a safer configuration for more modes of travel.
Interested in keeping in touch with this project? Sign up for Longfellow Bridge project updates. For more information on the project and traffic management plans, visit the website at www.mass.gov/massdot/longfellowbridge. For questions or to report issues or concerns, please contact the project team at 617-519-9892 or longfellowbridge@state.ma.us.
Emergency response, bicycle and pedestrian access will be maintained across the bridge during this weekend diversion. Please note: Bicyclists will be asked to walk their bikes on the sidewalk across the Longfellow Bridge to ensure the safety of all bridge users.
PLEASE CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE MBTA BUS ROUTE
PLEASE CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE BOSTON-BOUND DETOUR
PLEASE CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE CAMBRIDGE-BOUND DETOUR