List of crossings of the Charles River
This is a list of the crossings of the Charles River from its mouth at Boston Harbor upstream to its source at Echo Lake (the four tunnels crossing the inner portion of Boston Harbor are not included). All locations are in Massachusetts.
![](../I/Five_Charles_River_bridges.jpg.webp)
Crossings
Crossing | Carries | Location | Built | Length | Notes | Coordinates | Image |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Charlestown Bridge | ![]() |
Boston to Charlestown | 1900 | 331.9 meters (1,089 ft)[1] | The MBTA Orange Line used this bridge, before the upstream tunnel was completed in 1975.
Site of a ferry established in 1630;[2] obsoleted by the Charles River Bridge, built 1786 |
42°22′08″N 71°03′36″W | ![]() |
(New) Charles River Dam | pedestrians and bicycles | 1978 | Fish ladder, pumps and three locks for navigation.
Site of the Warren Bridge, built 1828, demolished 1962. |
42°22′07″N 71°03′41.10″W | ![]() | ||
Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge | ![]() ![]() |
2003 | 442.2 meters (1,451 ft)[1] | Replaced Charlestown High Bridge, built 1956, demolished 2004 | 42°22′08″N 71°03′49″W | ![]() | |
Haymarket North Extension tunnel | MBTA Orange Line | 1975 | |||||
Leverett Circle Connector Bridge | Boston to Cambridge | 1999 | 253 meters (830 ft)[1] | 42°22′08″N 71°03′52″W | |||
MBTA Commuter Rail Charles River Bridge | MBTA Commuter Rail at North Station | 1931 | Bascule drawbridge
Site of Boston and Lowell Railroad Charles River Bridge, built 1835, first movable railroad bridge in the United States[3] |
42°22′8.29″N 71°03′54.96″W | ![]() | ||
MBTA Green Line Lechmere Viaduct | MBTA Green Line | 1912 | 42°22′2.32″N 71°04′8.29″W | ![]() | |||
(Old) Charles River Dam Bridge | ![]() |
1910 | 25 meters (82 ft)[1] | The Boston Museum of Science is located on this bridge | 42°22′01.66″N 71°04′08.87″W | ![]() | |
Longfellow Bridge | ![]() MBTA Red Line |
1907 | 650.7 meters (2,135 ft)[1] | MBTA Red Line in median; built in 1907 as the Cambridge Bridge, renamed for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in 1927.
Site of West Boston Bridge, built 1793 |
42°21′41″N 71°04′32″W | ![]() | |
Harvard Bridge | ![]() |
1891, 1909 (rebuilt), 1924 (overhaul), 1990 (rebuilt) | 659.9 meters (2,165 ft)[1] | Longest bridge over the Charles. Northern terminus at MIT, not Harvard University. | 42°21′15″N 71°05′28″W | ![]() | |
Boston University Bridge | ![]() |
1927 | built as the Cottage Farm Bridge, renamed in 1949 | 42°21′09.12″N 71°06′38.26″W | ![]() | ||
Grand Junction Railroad Bridge | MBTA Grand Junction Branch | crosses the river under the Boston University Bridge | 42°21′09.69″N 71°06′36.72″W | ||||
River Street Bridge | carries Cambridge Street in Boston on half of the bridge | 1926 | 42°21′41″N 71°07′00″W | ![]() | |||
Western Avenue Bridge | 1924 | 85.3 meters (280 ft)[1] | 42°21′51.25″N 71°07′01.13″W | ![]() | |||
John W. Weeks Bridge | pedestrians | 1926 | the only footbridge across the basin, with a Harvard campus steam tunnel inside | 42°22′6.63″N 71°07′05.26″W | ![]() | ||
Anderson Memorial Bridge | N. Harvard Street/JFK Street | 1912 | 70.7 meters (232 ft)[1] | A memorial to Nicholas Longworth Anderson donated by his son Larz Anderson
Site of a ferry established 1635 at the foot of Dunster Street in Cambridge, at canal/creek;[4] obsoleted by Great Bridge,[5] built 1662, rebuilt 1862 |
42°22′08″N 71°07′23″W | ![]() | |
Eliot Bridge | 1950 | 91.4 meters (300 ft)[1] | a memorial to Charles W. Eliot, Harvard president 1869–1909, and his son Charles Eliot, landscape architect for the Metropolitan Park Commission | 42°22′18″N 71°07′59″W | ![]() | ||
Arsenal Street Bridge | Brighton to Watertown | 1925 | 61.9 meters (203 ft)[1] | 42°21′42″N 71°08′50″W | ![]() | ||
North Beacon Street Bridge | ![]() |
1917 | 62.5 meters (205 ft)[1] | 42°21′32″N 71°09′42″W | ![]() | ||
Watertown Bridge | ![]() |
Watertown | about 1907 | 27.4 meters (90 ft)[1] | 42°21′53″N 71°11′08″W | ![]() | |
Watertown Dam | no crossing | 1900 | 42°21′55.27″N 71°11′21.34″W | ![]() | |||
Cpl. Joseph U. Thompson Footbridge | pedestrians and bicycles | Demolished 2017[6] | 42°21′54.39″N 71°11′24.97″W | ![]() | |||
Cpl. Joseph U. Thompson Footbridge (new) | 2018 | Replaced old span | ![]() | ||||
Bridge Street Bridge | Newton to Watertown | 29.3 meters (96 ft)[1] | 42°21′56.87″N 71°12′15.96″W | ![]() | |||
Bemis Dam (breached) | 1821[7] | breached 1944 | 42°21′56.58″N 71°12′17.92″W | ![]() | |||
Blue Heron Footbridge | Charles River Bike Path | 2005 | 42°21′53.33″N 71°12′45.85″W | ![]() | |||
Farwell Street Bridge | Waltham | 33.4 meters (110 ft)[1] | 42°22′1.3″N 71°13′5.1″W | ![]() | |||
Bleachery Footbridge | Former pedestrian bridge site, demolished 1960s. | 42°22′8.2″N 71°13′20.4″W | ![]() | ||||
Bleachery Dam | No crossing | 1794 | originally Gore Paper Mill dam | 42°22′8.83″N 71°13′22.74″W | ![]() | ||
Mary T. Early Footbridge | 2004 | formerly Calvary Street Footbridge | 42°22′10.74″N 71°13′25.94″W | ![]() | |||
Boston & Maine Railroad trestle (abandoned) | abandoned Watertown Branch Railroad | Demolished in 2016 | 42°22′11.11″N 71°13′26.29″W | ![]() | |||
Charles F. Graceffa Bridge | Newton Street | 1877 | 27.4 meters (90 ft)[1] | 42°22′21.10″N 71°13′43.51″W | ![]() | ||
Elm Street Bridge | 71.9 meters (236 ft)[1] | 42°22′22.87″N 71°13′57.19″W | ![]() | ||||
Boston & Maine Railroad trestle (abandoned) | abandoned Watertown Branch | Demolished in 2015 | 42°22′22.21″N 71°13′59.12″W | ![]() | |||
Richard Landry Park footbridge | 1978 | 42°22′20.59″N 71°14′5.95″W | ![]() | ||||
Waltham Dam or Moody Street Dam | 1836 | original Eden Vale dam built 1785 | 42°22′22.87″N 71°14′10.24″W | ![]() | |||
Moody Street bridge | 1946 | 68.6 meters (225 ft)[1] | original built 1846, rebuilt 1871, 1921 | 42°22′23.61″N 71°14′11.63″W | ![]() | ||
Gold Star Mothers Bridge | 1889 | 40.2 meters (132 ft)[1] | Carries Prospect Street; drawbridge 1882 | 42°22′7.91″N 71°14′36.93″W | ![]() | ||
Commonwealth Avenue/South Avenue Bridge | ![]() |
Newton to Weston | site of old Norumbega Bridge | 42°20′38.27″N 71°15′41.01″W | ![]() | ||
I-90/I-95 connector | ![]() ![]() |
original Mass Pike terminus until 1964 | 42°20′29.76″N 71°15′42.51″W | ![]() | |||
Massachusetts Turnpike Boston Extension (Interstate 90) | ![]() |
316.1 meters (1,037 ft)[1] | 42°20′27.53″N 71°15′39.42″W | ![]() | |||
I-90/I-95 connector | ![]() ![]() |
42°20′27.62″N 71°15′34.98″W | ![]() | ||||
Footbridge from Riverside Rd., Newton to Recreation Rd., Weston | pedestrians - not suitable for bicycles due to bad condition | 42°20′28.36″N 71°15′29.73″W | ![]() | ||||
Road bridge from Riverside Rd., Newton to Recreation Rd., Weston | demolished 1960s around time of Massachusetts Turnpike Extension | 42°20′28.36″N 71°15′29.73″W | |||||
CSX/MBTA railroad bridge | Framingham/Worcester Line | Single-arch concrete span | 42°20′26.45″N 71°15′25.44″W | ![]() | |||
Riverside Park Footbridge | pedestrians - accessible from Riverside Park off Recreation Rd., Weston | 42°20′24.16″N 71°15′21.39″W | ![]() | ||||
I-95 offramp | 180.4 meters (592 ft)[1] | northbound exits 23–25; originally Route 128 until 1964 | 42°20′15.466″N 71°15′26.56″W | ![]() | |||
I‑95 / Route 128 | ![]() ![]() |
93.6 meters (307 ft)[1] | 42°20′11.83″N 71°15′31.04″W | ![]() | |||
Concord Street/Park Road bridge | 24.7 meters (81 ft)[1] | 42°19′50.04″N 71°16′4.53″W | ![]() | ||||
Leo J. Martin Golf Club Footbridge | Newton to Wellesley | 42°19′42.16″N 71°16′12.29″W | ![]() | ||||
Newton–Wellesley Lower Falls Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge | rebuilt 2012[8] | formerly abandoned Boston & Albany RR Newton Lower Falls Branch bridge | 42°19′36.34″N 71°15′40.58″W | ![]() | |||
Washington Street Bridge | ![]() |
43 meters (141 ft)[1] | 42°19′31.15″N 71°15′30.07″W | ![]() | |||
Finlay Dam | 42°19′31.74″N 71°15′15.78″W | ||||||
Cordingly Dam and Falls | 42°19′31.6″N 71°15′15.8″W | ![]() | |||||
Mary Hunnewell Fyffe Footbridge | 1983[9] | Previous bridges built in 1909 and before 1906[9] | 42°19′33″N 71°15′16″W | ![]() | |||
Wales Street/Walnut Street Bridge | 17.9 meters (59 ft)[1] | 42°19′36.39″N 71°15′11.42″W | ![]() | ||||
Cochituate Aqueduct | Closed. | 1848 | 42°19′27.48″N 71°14′59.95″W | ![]() | |||
I‑95 / Route 128 | ![]() ![]() |
42°19′25.09″N 71°14′57.36″W | ![]() | ||||
Boston-Worcester Turnpike Bridge | ![]() |
23.2 meters (76 ft)[1] | 42°19′00.5″N 71°13′41.2″W | ![]() | |||
Metropolitan Circular Dam | No crossing. | 2010s replacement for older dam | 42°18′59.6″N 71°13′41.1″W | ![]() | |||
Echo Bridge | pedestrians, bicycles, and the Sudbury Aqueduct | Newton to Needham | 1876 | 42°18′53.13″N 71°13′37.17″W | ![]() | ||
Silk Mill Dam | No crossing. | 42°18′49.76″N 71°13′34.82″W | ![]() | ||||
Elliot Street/Central Avenue Bridge | 42°18′44.30″N 71°13′37.37″W | ![]() | |||||
rail bridge | Closed. | Formerly carried the Charles River Railroad | 42°18′26.08″N 71°13′26.32″W | ![]() | |||
Needham Street Bridge | Needham Street, Newton / Highland Avenue, Needham | 1875 | 27.7 meters (91 ft)[1] | 42°18′23.51″N 71°13′1.02″W | ![]() | ||
rail bridge | Closed. | 42°18′21.65″N 71°12′46.73″W | ![]() | ||||
Kendrick Street/Nahanton Street Bridge | 49.4 meters (162 ft)[1] | 42°17′49.57″N 71°12′28.12″W | ![]() | ||||
MBTA Commuter Rail Needham Line bridge | West Roxbury to Needham | 42°16′46.17″N 71°11′6.89″W | ![]() | ||||
Honorable Robert L. Cawley Bridge | ![]() Bridge Street, Dedham / Spring Street, West Roxbury |
West Roxbury to Dedham | 21.3 meters (70 ft)[1] | 42°16′15.02″N 71°10′23.90″W | ![]() | ||
Ames Street Bridge[lower-alpha 1] | Dedham | 35.7 meters (117 ft)[1] | 42°15′8.61″N 71°10′34.37″W | ![]() | |||
Bridge Street Bridge | ![]() |
21.3 meters (70 ft)[1] | 42°15′14.85″N 71°10′51.60″W | ![]() | |||
Interstate 95/Route 128 | ![]() ![]() |
Needham to Dedham | 98.5 meters (323 ft) (SB) 89 meters (292 ft)[1] (NB)[1] |
42°16′1.96″N 71°12′10.20″W Between exits 17 & 18 on I-95 |
![]() | ||
Greendale Avenue/Lyons Street Bridge | 17.1 meters (56 ft)[1] | 42°16′1.33″N 71°12′17.42″W | ![]() | ||||
Route 135/West Street/Dedham Avenue Bridge | ![]() |
17.1 meters (56 ft)[1] | 42°16′3.67″N 71°13′4.89″W | ![]() | |||
Chestnut Street Bridge | Needham to Dover | 33.8 meters (111 ft)[1] | 42°15′35.40″N 71°14′13.48″W | ![]() | |||
dam | No crossing. | A USGS flow gauge is located here. | 42°15′22.7″N 71°15′34.8″W | ![]() | |||
dam | No crossing. | 42°15′31″N 71°15′46.8″W | ![]() | ||||
Willow Street/South Street Bridge | 17 meters (56 ft)[1] | 42°15′32.66″N 71°15′47.26″W | ![]() | ||||
rail bridge | Closed. | Formerly carried the Charles River Railroad | 42°15′26.97″N 71°16′14.26″W | ![]() | |||
Central Ave/Centre Street Bridge | 20.7 meters (68 ft)[1] | 42°15′32.37″N 71°16′17.31″W | ![]() | ||||
missing bridge? | 42°15′48.07″N 71°17′5.55″W | ||||||
Dover Road/Charles River Street Bridge | 38.6 meters (127 ft)[1] | 42°16′9.50″N 71°17′59.43″W | ![]() | ||||
Cheney Drive Bridge | 19.5 meters (64 ft)[1] | Access road to Elm Bank Reservation. | 42°16′32.68″N 71°18′34.38″W | ![]() | |||
Water Street Bridge | No longer extant. | South Natick | 42°16′13.8″N 71°18′31.3″W | ![]() | |||
Pleasant Street Bridge | 34.4 meters (113 ft)[1] | 42°16′18.13″N 71°18′54.52″W | ![]() | ||||
South Natick Dam | 42°16′17.27″N 71°18′56.57″W | ![]() | |||||
Sargent Bridge | No public access. | 42.26696°N 71.32112°W | ![]() | ||||
Farm Road/Bridge Street Bridge | Sherborn to Dover | 42°13′57.45″N 71°19′48.67″W | ![]() | ||||
rail bridge | CSX Mansfield Secondary | Sherborn to Medfield | 42°12′53.43″N 71°20′53.79″W | ||||
South Main Street/North Meadows Road Bridge | ![]() |
21.9 meters (72 ft)[1] | 42°12′35.98″N 71°21′6.23″W | ||||
former bridge? | 42°12′28.00″N 71°21′7.20″W | ||||||
rail bridge | Medfield to Millis | 42°11′18.38″N 71°20′3.54″W | |||||
Dover Road Bridge | Bridge site going back to 1640s, including one burnt by Native Americans during King Philip's War in 1675. | 42°11′19.41″N 71°19′59.76″W | |||||
Turner Bridge (Main Street Bridge) | ![]() |
20.1 meters (66 ft)[1] | 42°10′52″N 71°19′21.52″W | ![]() | |||
Dwight's Bridge | Dwight Street Millis to Medfield | Over the Charles River off Causeway Street on Dwight Street. This was so named and built so Timothy Dwight could get to land he owned in the area. This bridge was washed out in the Great 1936 Flood and never rebuilt.[11] | 42°10′24.8″N 71°19′23.3″W | ![]() | |||
Forest Road/Orchard Street Bridge | 17.7 meters (58 ft)[1] | 42°9′28.26″N 71°19′55.43″W | ![]() | ||||
Norfolk Road Bridge | ![]() |
Millis | 21.9 meters (72 ft)[1] | 42°8′35.80″N 71°20′57.42″W | ![]() | ||
Dean Street/Pleasant Street Bridge | 42°8′17.64″N 71°21′31.08″W | ||||||
Myrtle Street bridge | 22.1 meters (73 ft)[1] | 42°8′0.63″N 71°21′42.86″W | |||||
Walker Street Bridge | Medway | 24.4 meters (80 ft)[1] | 42°8′24.32″N 71°23′22.39″W | ||||
Sanford Street Bridge | Medway to Franklin | 42°8′17.96″N 71°23′54″W | ![]() | ||||
Sanford Mill Dam | 42°8′19.2″N 71°23′55.4″W | ![]() | |||||
Shaw Street/Elm Street Bridge | 42°8′11.40″N 71°25′6.72″W | ||||||
Woodland Park Bridge | 42°8′19.39″N 71°25′18.92″W | ||||||
dam | No crossing. | 42°8′20.62″N 71°25′27.07″W | |||||
Franklin Street/Pond Street Bridge | 10.1 meters (33 ft)[1] | 42°8′17.36″N 71°25′51.87″W | |||||
Pearl Street Bridge | Bellingham | 20.5 meters (67 ft)[1] | 42°7′51.52″N 71°26′38.53″W | ||||
Plymouth Road Bridge | 12.5 meters (41 ft)[1] | 42°7′22.07″N 71°26′51.69″W | |||||
Maple Street Bridge | 12.2 meters (40 ft)[1] | 42°7′10.32″N 71°27′12.35″W | ![]() | ||||
Maple Street Dam | 42°7′8.6″N 71°27′15.2″W | ![]() | |||||
I-495 bridge | ![]() |
10.1 meters (33 ft)[1] | 42°06′27″N 71°27′30″W | ||||
High Street Bridge | 10.7 meters (35 ft)[1] | 42°5′50.69″N 71°27′33.07″W | ![]() | ||||
footbridge | Onetime road bridge site | 42°5′22.91″N 71°28′13.16″W | ![]() | ||||
North Main Street Bridge | ![]() |
9.4 meters (31 ft)[1] | 42°05′39″N 71°28′34″W | ![]() | |||
rail bridge | 42°5′39.54″N 71°28′50.71″W | ||||||
Depot Street Bridge | 16.5 meters (54 ft)[1] | 42°5′38.39″N 71°28′55.65″W | |||||
Hartford Avenue Bridge | Bellingham to Mendon/Hopedale | 42°6′12.41″N 71°29′59.19″W | |||||
rail bridge | Bellingham to Hopedale | 42°06′41.8″N 71°30′4.9″W | |||||
Mellen Street Bridge and Dam | Bellingham to Hopedale | 42°07′0.8″N 71°30′5″W | ![]() | ||||
Howard Street Bridge | Hopedale to Milford | 42°07′5.30″N 71°30′17.88″W | ![]() | ||||
rail bridge | 42°7′7.22″N 71°30′20.97″W | ![]() | |||||
Howard Street Bridge | Milford | 42°07′32″N 71°30′33″W | ![]() | ||||
rail bridge | 42°7′36.9″N 71°30′33.9″W | ![]() | |||||
Central Street Bridge | 42°08′21″N 71°30′45″W | ![]() | |||||
Main Street Culvert | ![]() |
42°08′37″N 71°30′47″W | ![]() | ||||
Milford Pond Dam and Footbridge | 42°08′50.9″N 71°30′49.2″W | ![]() | |||||
Dilla Street Bridge | 42°09′41″N 71°30′43″W | ![]() | |||||
Dilla Street Dam | 42°09′41.3″N 71°30′41.8″W | ||||||
old road bridge | 42°09′52.3″N 71°30′38.7″W | ![]() | |||||
culvert | Upper Charles Trail | 42°09′52.4″N 71°30′38.9″W | ![]() | ||||
I-495 culvert (Exit 20) | ![]() |
42°10′04″N 71°30′41″W | ![]() | ||||
Wildcat Pond Bridge and Dam | Private road | 42°7′8.6″N 71°27′15.2″W | ![]() | ||||
footbridge | 42°10′22.3″N 71°30′34.3″W | ![]() | |||||
bridge | Upper Charles River Trail | 42°10′25.7″N 71°30′30.6″W | ![]() | ||||
Route 85 bridge | ![]() |
42°10′26″N 71°30′30″W | ![]() | ||||
footbridge | 42°10′43.7″N 71°30′21.7″W | ![]() | |||||
bridge | Upper Charles River Trail | 42°10′44.1″N 71°30′22.1″W | ![]() | ||||
footbridge | 42°10′52.5″N 71°30′19.7″W | ![]() | |||||
footbridge | 42°10′54.8″N 71°30′20.8″W | ![]() | |||||
Route 85 bridge | ![]() |
42°10′55″N 71°30′22″W | ![]() | ||||
Echo Lake Dam | No crossing. | Hopkinton | 42°11′32″N 71°30′28.7″W | ![]() |
Source: Echo Lake 42.193012°N 71.5119°W
See also
- Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge
Transport portal
Engineering portal
United States portal
Notes
- A footbridge was first built in this location in 1640 by William Bullard and John Eaton. It was the first crossing in Dedham.[10]
References
- Massachusetts Bridges Spanning the Charles River. Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDoT).
- "Some Events Around Boston". Kellscraft.com. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
- "HISTORIC AMERICAN ENGINEERING RECORD - Boston & Maine Railroad: Charles River Bridges - MA-22". Retrieved March 4, 2014.
- "Publications - Cambridge Historical Society (Mass.) - Google Books". Books.google.com. 1911. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
- Paige, Lucius Robinson (1877). History of Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1630–1877: With a Genealogical Register. Hurd and Houghton. p. 195. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
- "DCR Recreational Advisory: Joseph Thompson Pedestrian Bridge in Watertown".
- "The Bemis Dam: A forgotten Link to Our Industrial Past". Historic Newton. City of Newton. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
- "Newton Lower Falls bridge". Newton Bicycle/Pedestrian Task Force. July 31, 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
- "Mary Hunnewell Fyffe Footbridge". Newton Conservators. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
- Alden, John Eaton; Eaton, Daniel Cady (1900). Eaton Family of Dedham and the Powder House Rock. p. 16. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
- "DeSorgher: Cross That Bridge When You Get to It". Medfield, MA Patch. January 6, 2012. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
External links
![]() |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bridges over the Charles River. |
- Map of local Charles River crossings – Harvard College Marathon Challenge website
- Articles on crossings and their conservation in Newton