Bill Russell Bridge | North Washington St.

Design unfortunately calls for it all going
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I fully expect theyre going to also include these guideways for boat traffic to and from the locks like there was with the old bridge. For whatever reason they only show up on the models not the renders. Probably to pretty up the design for the renders. Still no old masonry left behind though.

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Yeah...the abutments have to go for boat traffic. Old vs. new placements don't agree with each other for lining up a straight channel into the Charles locks.

As for preservation? Well, the stone blocks themselves are individually quite valuable if they can be chipped out intact. So depending on condition and what you can cleanly separate from the mortar they might be able to salvage some of that for future use elsewhere.
 
F-Line to Dudley said:
Yeah...the abutments have to go for boat traffic. Old vs. new placements don't agree with each other for lining up a straight channel into the Charles locks.

As for preservation? Well, the stone blocks themselves are individually quite valuable if they can be chipped out intact. So depending on condition and what you can cleanly separate from the mortar they might be able to salvage some of that for future use elsewhere.
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Maybe if the stones are salvaged they can be cut down as pavers for the long-term work to convert Canal Street into a pedestrian mall. Alternatively, the same could be done for future pedestrian space at Blackstone Market/Haymarket; Downtown Crossing pedestrian-improvements (raised crosswalks, places to sit, paved shared streets); or an upgrade to the Public Garden asphalt ring around the George Washington Statue, be it places to sit, climb, or walk across. An adaptive reuse of the stones might actually be a thoughtful use for the latter two suggestions as DTX is Washington Street and the Public Garden has the Washington statue (nod to North Washington Bridge).
 
Which block are we talking about?
  • Blocks *in* the channel -- yes it seems like they're all going to be hauled out. I'd think they'd make a great heightened seawall somewhere, either as wall or as rip rap
  • Blocks on the Charlestown approach (see link below), where I see them taking off only the top course. And the renders are unclear how far "inland" the bridge's new open spans will go
Slight difference in topic:
Is the MDC making good use of the "arch garages" They seem like a place where one thought in 1920 that one would park a snow plow. But does anybody actually make good use of such a thing?
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I was talking about the bridge "abutments", which in bridge terminology are on the ends of the bridge. The bridge piers (not the abutments) are in the river. I know the bridge piers had to go because of the reasons cited here, but the bridge abutments, in my opinion, could have been incorporated into the ends of the new bridge.

In any case, the stone masonry on the abutments can be salvaged and the stones removed intact. I was involved in several projects where large stone masonry walls (granite blocks joined with mortar) were successfully taken apart and reused. These walls were from the 1920's. So it is doable. The stone masonry piers in the water are a different story, and might be too difficult to disassemble.
 
Charlie_mta said:
I was talking about the bridge "abutments", which in bridge terminology are on the ends of the bridge. The bridge piers (not the abutments) are in the river. I know the bridge piers had to go because of the reasons cited here, but the bridge abutments, in my opinion, could have been incorporated into the ends of the new bridge.

In any case, the stone masonry on the abutments can be salvaged and the stones removed intact. I was involved in several projects where large stone masonry walls (granite blocks joined with mortar) were successfully taken apart and reused. These walls were from the 1920's. So it is doable. The stone masonry piers in the water are a different story, and might be too difficult to disassemble.
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Salvaged stone masonry was used in the reconstruction of the Longfellow Bridge. The stone, Rockport granite, was salvaged from the Amesbury Derek Hines Bridge when it was dismantled a few years ago. Rockport granite hasn't been quarried since the 1930s, so the salvaged stone was the only way to match the look.
 
Those foundation shafts must be special, as an Italian company is the sub.
The foundation works consist in the execution of 40 drilled shafts, six feet in diameter, and rock sockets with 5.5 feet diameters, with lengths ranging from 63 to 95 feet.
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CSTH said:
This bridge sucks. It's like the moakley bridge over the fp channel. Just a concrete lab with some ornamentation on it. Yuck city.
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Consistency... I love it (not the bridge, that could be better)

CSTH said:
Anybody else fully expecting an undistinguished over-water highway viaduct like this one?

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CSTH said:
This bridge sucks. It's like the moakley bridge over the fp channel. Just a concrete lab with some ornamentation on it. Yuck city.
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The new North Washington Street Bridge looks like it should be in Miami Beach, at least in the renders. I would have preferred a steel truss bridge, more in character with the industrial look and history of the area.
 
Call me old or whatever, but I sure hate to see that stone masonry go. At least they are salvaging it.

It does (sort of) look like they'll be leaving the stone masonry in place that is still standing in the above photo^.
 
Charlie_mta said:
Call me old or whatever, but I sure hate to see that stone masonry go. At least they are salvaging it.

It does (sort of) look like they'll be leaving the stone masonry in place that is still standing in the above photo^.
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Based on walking around it this morning, it does appear that they are salvaging/reinforcing the stone masonry approach ramp structure on the Charlestown side.
 
Charlie_mta said:
Me too. Originally that train line connected the freight docks in Charlestown with the Hoosac Tunnel in western Massachusetts.
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And there's a neat plaque that tells of the history of the Hoosac Tunnel construction and freight transport located along the harborwalk in Charlestown (somewhere between here & the U.S.S. Constitution).
 
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