Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge Information
The Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge (or Zakim Bridge) is a cable-stayed bridge across the Charles River in Boston, Massachusetts. It is a replacement for the Charlestown High Bridge, an older truss bridge constructed in the 1950s, and is the world's widest cable-stayed bridge. Of 10 lanes, the main portion of the Zakim Bridge carries four lanes each way (northbound and southbound) of the Interstate 93 and U.S. Route 1 concurrency between the Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill Jr. Tunnel and the elevated highway to the north. Two additional lanes are cantilevered outside the cables, which carry northbound traffic from the Sumner Tunnel and North End on-ramp. These lanes merge with the main highway north of the bridge. I-93 heads toward New Hampshire as the "Northern Expressway", and US 1 splits from the Interstate and travels northeast toward Massachusetts' north shore, crossing the Mystic River via the Tobin Bridge.
The bridge and connecting tunnel were built as part of the Big Dig, the largest highway construction project in the United States. The north-bound (NB) lanes were finished in March 2003, then south-bound (SB) lanes in December. The bridge's unique styling quickly became an icon for Boston, often featured in the backdrop of national news channels, to establish location, and included on tourist souvenirs. The bridge is commonly referred to as the "Zakim Bridge" or "Bunker Hill Bridge" by residents of nearby Charlestown.
The Leverett Circle Connector Bridge was constructed in conjunction with the Zakim Bridge, allowing some traffic to bypass it.
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Design
In a cable-stayed bridge, instead of hanging the roadbed from cables slung between towers, the cables run directly between the roadbed and the towers. Although cable-stayed bridges have been common in Europe since World War II, they are relatively new to North America.
Side view of Zakim Bridge, central span, on Charles River (view from Bunker Hill Monument).The bridge concept was developed by Swiss civil engineer Christian Menn and its design was engineered by American civil engineer Ruchu Hsu with Parsons Brinckerhoff. Boston-based architect Miguel Rosales was the lead architect/urban designer and facilitated community participation during the design process. Neither Hsu nor Rosales served as the designer of record for the project. The engineer of record is HNTB/FIGG. The lead designer from HNTB was Theodore Zoli; and W. Denney Pate from FIGG. The bridge follows a new design in which two outer lanes are cantilevered outside of the wires another eight lanes run through the towers. It has a striking, graceful appearance that is meant to echo the tower of the Bunker Hill Monument, which is within view of the bridge, and the white cables evoke imagery of the rigging of the USS Constitution.
The MBTA Orange Line tunnel lies beneath the bridge.
Name
Image of the dedication plaque for the bridgeThe bridge's full name commemorates both Boston civic leader and civil rights activist Leonard P. Zakim, who championed "building bridges between peoples",[4] and the Battle of Bunker Hill. Originally Massachusetts Governor A. Paul Cellucci sought to name it the "Freedom Bridge". In 2000, however, local clergy and religious leaders, including Cardinal Bernard Francis Law, requested the Zakim name shortly after Zakim's death from myeloma. Although Cellucci agreed to the naming, community leaders from Charlestown objected to the name as they felt that since the design reflected the nearby Bunker Hill memorial, it should be named the "Bunker Hill Freedom bridge". Allegations of antisemitism were leveled against members of the mostly white, Irish-Catholic community as reasons for resistance to the Zakim name, based on some comments quoted in the Boston Globe. In response, several community leaders spoke out against the allegations in a press conference, stating that the claims, made by Professor Jonathan Sarna, were his alone and not reflected in the Jewish community at large.[5]
Eventually a compromise between the Boston City Council, the Massachusetts State Legislature and community activists brought about the current name. As with the Hoover Dam, however, different communities will call the bridge by different colloquial names. Many people in the Charlestown area refer to it as the "Bunker Hill bridge", while most, including the local press and traffic monitoring services, refer to it as the "Zakim Bridge". Many Red Sox fans also refer to it as the "Buckner Bridge" because of the resemblance of the name Buckner to Bunker and because it appears cars pass unimpeded between a giant pair of legs, a reference to the famous 1986 World Series error.
At the time of the naming and sponsoring of the Boston Garden an article discussing appraisals of the other Boston landmarks suggested the probable amount that the naming of the bridge would have cost a sponsor would have been US$100,000,000.
Pachyderm test
On 14 October 2002, elephants from the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus crossed the new Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge to demonstrate the bridge's structural integrity. The 14 elephants proved that the bridge supports 112,000 pounds. The Boston elephant march resembled tests of the 1800s when bridge engineering was more questionable. Elephants were used to demonstrate the sturdiness of the Eads Bridge in 1874 and the Brooklyn Bridge in 1884. According to folklore, elephants are used for such shows of strength because they are widely believed to have uncanny instincts and will not cross unsafe structures.[6]
Notes
- Although the bridge was completed in 2002, it was not opened to traffic until the northbound Central Artery tunnel opened in early 2003. The southbound lanes were opened in December 2003, with the opening of the southbound tunnel, and the cantilevered northbound lanes (a two-lane entrance ramp) opened in April 2005, when the old bridge was improvement. It acts as a complete replacement for the previous three-lane, dual-height steel bridge, the Charlestown High Bridge. The different heights of the lanes of the I-93 elevated highway in Charlestown are the only remaining hints to the layout of the old bridge.
- In March 2005, ice fell off the cables and landed on the roadway below in large enough chunks to possibly break windshields, or even endanger motorists, stopping traffic.[7]
- The Travel Channel ranked the Zakim Bridge 9th in their list of the World's Top Ten Bridges. The article also points out that the bridge is the widest cable-stayed bridge in the world, but with only 10 lanes for traffic.[8]
Gallery
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Northbound from Clinton Street in Boston
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Detail of the cabling and tower on the bridge
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Traveling south on the Zakim-Bunker Hill Bridge
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The bridge during its construction
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The bridge with Boston in the background
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The bridge on a sunny day
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The bridge from below
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The bridge viewed from Bunker Hill Monument
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Another view of the bridge, going southbound
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A view of a tower on the birdge
See also
- List of crossings of the Charles River
- Fred Hartman Bridge (Texas), 1995 cable-stayed bridge of similar width but taller
References
- ^ Massachusetts Turnpike Authority. "MTA - The Charles River Bridges". http://www.masspike.com/bigdig/background/crb.html. Retrieved 2006-10-19.
- ^ "MTA - The Charles River Bridges". http://www.massturnpike.com/bigdig/background/crb.html.
- ^ a b Eastern Roads. "Leonard P Zakim-Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge (I-93 and US 1)". http://www.bostonroads.com/crossings/zakim/. Retrieved 2006-10-19.
- ^ MTA press release (2002-09-18). "Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge Dedication Events Set For October 3–6". http://www.masspike.com/user-cgi/news.cgi?dbkey=54&type=Archived&src=newsarchive. Retrieved 2008-04-28. ""He worked tirelessly to build personal bridges between our city's diverse people and neighborhoods." - Joyce Zakim, wife of Lenny Zakim"
- ^ Biography of Lenny Zakim in articles and TV programs. "Lenny's Story: Cancer and the Quality of Life". the International Myeloma Foundation. Archived from the original on 2008-01-12. http://web.archive.org/web/20080112105611/http://www.myeloma.org/main.jsp?tab_id=1&type=article&id=457. Retrieved 2008-04-29.
- ^ "The Pachyderm Test". http://www.americancityandcounty.com/mag/government_postcards_22/index.html. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
- ^ Daniel, Mac; Globe Staff (2005-03-15). "Bridge's falling ice called fluke of nature". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/03/15/bridges_falling_ice_called_fluke_of_nature/. Retrieved 2006-10-19.
- ^ Marathe, Amy (N/A). "World's Top Ten Bridges". The Travel Channel. http://www.google.com. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
External links
- The Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge web site
- Fact sheet on the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge
- Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge at Structurae
- Description and history on bostonroads.com
- Zakim bridge as viewed from Spaulding Rehab Hospital
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Categories:
- Bridges completed in 2003
- Bridges in Boston, Massachusetts
- Transportation in Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Towers in Massachusetts
- Cable-stayed bridges in the United States
- Interstate 93
- Landmarks in Boston, Massachusetts
- U.S. Route 1
- North End, Boston
- Buildings and structures in Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Bridges in Middlesex County, Massachusetts
- Road bridges in Massachusetts
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