"Dirty Old Boston"

stick n move said:
^Thats interesting, for whatever reason I had never known before that the central artery connected to rt.1 before 93 north was built. I had always thought they were built together.
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The Central Artery and Tobin Bridge were built in the early 1950s, but I-93 wasn't built until the early 70s.
 
Charlie_mta said:
The Central Artery and Tobin Bridge were built in the early 1950s, but I-93 wasn't built until the early 70s.
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Uh….
6B61AEC8-5BB0-4061-A7AC-2E620B27DB3A.png
 
The original Central Artery also predated modern federal highway standards. The lanes were too narrow and there were too many exits and onramps.
 
chrisbrat said:
Uh….
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From the Wikipedia article:
The Northern Expressway was constructed from Medford to the New Hampshire border between 1956 and 1963. It was extended through Somerville and Charlestown to the Central Artery, US 1, and the planned route of the Inner Belt Expressway (proposed I-695) between 1965 and 1973. Because it was already under construction, the highway was granted an exception to the moratorium on highway expansion inside Route 128 that was announced in 1970.
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When I was in 8th grade, I would peddle my bike from North Cambridge (circa 1963) up to Medford to watch the construction of I-93 north of Riverside Ave (near Medford Sq). Around that time I-93 was first opened from Roosevelt Circle north to NH. The segment from Roosevelt Circle south to Riverside Ave in Medford remained closed until the segment from Riverside Ave to Mystic Ave (just east of Mystic Valley Pkwy) was finished a couple of years later. That Mystic River segment required importation of massive amounts of fill, which I saw hauled in on freight cars on the Medford RR branch. So for about a decade, I-93 ended at Mystic Valley Pkwy, and I-93 traffic dumped onto Mystic Valley Pkwy eastbound toward Wellington Circle. Finally in the early 70s, I-93 was completed thru Somerville to the Central Artery, just barely making it ahead of the expressway moratorium enacted by Gov. Sargent (who, by the way, was a fishing buddy of my uncle George from Gloucester). I also remember riding on the upper deck of the I-93 viaduct in Charlestown (near the Gilmore Bridge) on my bicycle before it was opened in the early 1970s. Fun times.
 
Charlie_mta said:
When I was in 8th grade, I would peddle my bike from North Cambridge (circa 1963) up to Medford to watch the construction of I-93 north of Riverside Ave (near Medford Sq). Around that time I-93 was first opened from Roosevelt Circle north to NH. The segment from Roosevelt Circle south to Riverside Ave in Medford remained closed until the segment from Riverside Ave to Mystic Ave (just east of Mystic Valley Pkwy) was finished a couple of years later. That Mystic River segment required importation of massive amounts of fill, which I saw hauled in on freight cars on the Medford RR branch. So for about a decade, I-93 ended at Mystic Valley Pkwy, and I-93 traffic dumped onto Mystic Valley Pkwy eastbound toward Wellington Circle. Finally in the early 70s, I-93 was completed thru Somerville to the Central Artery, just barely making it ahead of the expressway moratorium enacted by Gov. Sargent (who, by the way, was a fishing buddy of my uncle George from Gloucester). I also remember riding on the upper deck of the I-93 viaduct in Charlestown (near the Gilmore Bridge) on my bicycle before it was opened in the early 1970s. Fun times.
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After reading that it first only went to medford I was wondering where it ended but that makes sense. If only it could have stayed that way.
 
stick n move said:
After reading that it first only went to medford I was wondering where it ended but that makes sense. If only it could have stayed that way.
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I agree. But it was fun watching the section in Medford get built. Seeing that got me really interested in civil engineering, which is what my career path became.
 
I actually never knew that the central artery existed before 93 was built.
 
type001 said:
I actually never knew that the central artery existed before 93 was built.
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The old elevated Central Artery through downtown Boston was originally supposed to be designated as I-95, not I-93. When the Southwest Expressway and the Northeast Expressway extension through Lynn was cancelled in 1970, the State decided to use the I-93 designation Instead of I-95.
 
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type001 said:
I actually never knew that the central artery existed before 93 was built.
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Haha same. That picture kinda blew my mind. I definitely thought I had a very good handle on when and why all of the highways around boston were built, but I guess theres still a lot more to learn.
 
chrisbrat said:
Charlie_mta has proven to be a valuable asset with memories and resources that have absolutely enriched my concepts of Metro Boston's evolution.
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Thank you, I appreciate that. I benefit every day from the discussions and information presented on aB. I wanted to be an architect when I was a kid, but also a civil engineer, and the engineering won out. But architecture was my first love, and I've learned about it and appreciated it a great deal more, thanks to aB.
 
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