https://wiki.sarg.dev/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Charlestown_High_BridgeCharlestown High Bridge - Revision history2026-08-08T18:26:08ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.44.2https://wiki.sarg.dev/index.php?title=Charlestown_High_Bridge&diff=319388&oldid=previmported>Wamalotpark: MOS:GEOLINK2025-09-12T00:08:21Z<p>MOS:GEOLINK</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Distinguish|Charlestown Bridge}}<br />
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}<br />
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}<br />
{{One source|date=February 2015}}<br />
{{Infobox bridge<br />
|bridge_name=Charlestown High Bridge<br />
|image=Boston CAT Project-construction view from air.jpeg<br />
|caption=The Charlestown High Bridge (lower right) has been replaced by the now-complete [[Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge]] (center)<br />
|official_name=<br />
|carries={{jct|state=MA|I|93|US|1}}<br />
|crosses=[[Charles River]]<br />
|locale=[[Boston|Boston, Massachusetts]]<br />([[North End, Boston|North End]] to [[Charlestown, Boston|Charlestown]])<br />
|maint=<br />
|id=<br />
|design=double-decker [[Truss bridge#Warren truss|Warren truss bridge]]<br />
|mainspan=<br />
|length=<br />
|width=<br />
|height=<br />
|load=<br />
|clearance=<br />
|below=<br />
|traffic=<br />
|begin=<br />
|complete=<br />
|open=1954<br />
|closed=2004<br />
|toll=<br />
|coordinates= {{Coord|42.369075|N|71.062472|W|region:US_type:landmark|display=inline,title|name=Charlestown High Bridge}}<br />
| mapframe-zoom = 13<br />
}}<br />
The '''Charlestown High Bridge''' (referred to as the '''[[John F. Fitzgerald]] Bridge''' on old [[American Automobile Association|AAA]] Tourbook maps) spanned the [[Charles River]] in [[Boston]], Massachusetts, and was part of [[Interstate 93 in Massachusetts|I-93]]/[[U.S. Route 1 in Massachusetts|US&nbsp;1]] at the north end of the [[Central Artery]].<br />
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This [[Bridge#Double-decker bridge|double-decked]] [[truss bridge]], built in 1954, was to originally carry [[Interstate 95 in Massachusetts|I-95]] through Boston from southwest to northeast in tandem with the [[Tobin Bridge]], built in 1950. The I-95 project and several other highway projects in and around Boston, including both the highly controversial Inner Belt ([[Interstate 695 (Massachusetts)|I-695]]) and the [[Southwest Corridor (Massachusetts)|Southwest Corridor]], completing the right-of-way intended to bring I-95 into Boston from [[Providence, Rhode Island]], were cancelled due to heavy public opposition in the early 1970s. I-93 was allowed to be completed from the Yankee Division Highway ([[Massachusetts Route 128|Route&nbsp;128]]) to the foot of the Charlestown High Bridge in 1969, and the I-93 designation was extended onto the bridge and the Central Artery in the early 1970s.<br />
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Originally intended to carry 75,000 vehicles per day in the 1950s, the Charlestown High Bridge carried upwards of 200,000 vehicles per day in the 1990s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bostonroads.com/crossings/zakim/|title=Leonard P Zakim-Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge (I-93 and US 1)|work=bostonroads.com}}</ref> For years, the bridge was a major traffic bottleneck that affected southbound commuters from Boston's [[North Shore (Massachusetts)|North Shore]] and southern [[New Hampshire]] for miles. Travelling northbound, due to a poorly planned lane drop to accommodate incoming vehicles from [[Storrow Drive]], traffic backups leading to the High Bridge threatened to cause hours of daily gridlock in downtown Boston. These problems were addressed in the planning and construction of the $14.6 billion [[Big Dig (Boston, Massachusetts)|Big Dig]] project. The cable-stayed [[Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge|Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge]], which opened fully to traffic in December 2003, replaced the Charlestown High Bridge, which was demolished in 2004.<br />
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==See also==<br />
* {{Portal-inline|Transport}}<br />
* {{Portal-inline|Engineering}}<br />
* {{Portal-inline|United States}}<br />
* [[List of crossings of the Charles River]]<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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==External links==<br />
*{{Structurae|id=20009366|name=Old I-93 Charles River Bridge}}<br />
<br />
{{Crossings navbox<br />
|structure = [[List of crossings of the Charles River|Crossings]]<br />
|place = [[Charles River]]<br />
|bridge = Charlestown High Bridge (demolished)<br />
|bridge signs = Former [[File:I-93.svg|20px]] [[File:US 1.svg|20px]]<br />
|upstream = [[Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge]]<br />
|upstream signs = [[File:I-93.svg|20px]] [[File:US 1.svg|20px]]<br />
|downstream =[[Charles River Dam]]<br />
|downstream signs = <br />
}}<br />
<br />
{{Authority control}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Bridges completed in 1954]]<br />
[[Category:Bridges in Boston]]<br />
[[Category:Demolished bridges in the United States]]<br />
[[Category:Interstate 93]]<br />
[[Category:U.S. Route 1]]<br />
[[Category:Road bridges in Massachusetts]]<br />
[[Category:Bridges on the Interstate Highway System]]<br />
[[Category:Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System]]<br />
[[Category:Bridges over the Charles River]]<br />
[[Category:1954 establishments in Massachusetts]]<br />
[[Category:2004 disestablishments in Massachusetts]]<br />
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{{Massachusetts-bridge-struct-stub}}<br />
{{Boston-struct-stub}}</div>imported>Wamalotpark