Long Island Bridge

The Long Island Bridge, sometimes referred to as the Long Island Viaduct, was a bridge in Boston, Massachusetts, that connected Long Island to Moon Island. Both islands are located in Boston Harbor and are connected to the mainland via a causeway from Moon Island to the Squantum neighborhood of Quincy, Massachusetts.

Long Island Bridge
Long Island Bridge in May 2009
Coordinates42°19′N 70°59′W
CrossesBoston Harbor
LocaleBoston, Massachusetts and Quincy, Massachusetts
Other name(s)Long Island Viaduct
OwnerCity of Boston[1]
Characteristics
DesignWarren truss
MaterialSteel, concrete and rebar
Total length3,450 ft (1,051.6 m)[2]
Width30.0 ft
History
DesignerCrandall Engineering Company[2]
Constructed byBethlehem Steel Corporation
Construction start1950
Construction end1951
OpenedAugust 4, 1951 (1951-08-04)
ClosedOctober 8, 2014 (2014-10-09)
(demolished 2015)
ReplacesFerry service
Location

History

Constructed at a cost of $2,000,000, the bridge was opened on August 4, 1951.[3] Before the bridge was opened, Long Island was accessible only by the ferry James M. Curley. The bridge was built to provide better access to Long Island Hospital, a public facility serving 1,200 chronically ill patients. After the hospital's closure, the bridge provided access to other city facilities on the island, including a homeless shelter, programs for patients with substance abuse problems, and a fire station.

A Fields Corner–Long Island bus service over the bridge was operated by the Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway until 1972, then by the MBTA until 1976.[4] The MBTA resumed service with route 276 Long Island Hospital–Boston City Hospital in 1983, with route 275 added in 1994. After a weight restriction was placed on the bridge in 2007, the two routes terminated at the Fire Academy on Moon Island, with a single route 274 bus shuttling over the bridge.[4][5]

Closure
The ruins of the bridge in 2017

In October 2014, all access to Long Island was cut off for the indefinite future since the then Mayor of Boston, Marty Walsh, took the warning of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation about the condition of the Long Island Bridge being unsafe. All those living on Long Island and being serviced by recovery programs or as guests in the homeless shelter were no longer able to go there or use it for services. They were abruptly relocated elsewhere on an emergency basis.[6][7]

In January 2015, demolition of the bridge began with the central span section being removed and ferried away in February.[8][9] In a series of controlled demolitions, the remainder of the bridge was destroyed in March and April. By 2018, the city had committed $92 million to replace the bridge. Quincy objects to the planned replacement.[10]

References
  1. Abel, David; Crimaldi, Laura (9 October 2014). "Harbor bridge closing brings hunt for new shelters, services". Boston Globe. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  2. "Long Island Bridge Bids to Be Accepted in About Two Weeks". The Boston Globe. 25 February 1950. p. 9.
  3. "Mayor Hynes Snips Ribbon, Opening Long Island Viaduct: $2,000,000 Bridge in Quincy Called Longest of Its Kind in United States". The Boston Globe. August 5, 1951. p. C26 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). NETransit.
  5. "275/276 Long Island-Boston Medical Center or Downtown: Fall August 30, 2014 - December 26, 2014" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. August 30, 2014.
  6. "Mayor Walsh provides update on the Long Island Bridge". The Official Website of the City of Boston. 2014-11-26. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
  7. Caesar, Chris (2014-10-08). "Boston Homeless Shelter Evacuated Following Bridge Inspection - Boston.com". Boston.com. Boston.com. Retrieved 2014-10-09.
  8. McMahon, Shannon (2015-01-05). "Boston Begins Long Island Bridge Demolition - Boston.com". Boston.com. 2015-01-05.
  9. Finucane, Martin. (2015-02-25). "Portion of ailing Long Island Bridge is removed - The Boston Globe". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2018-02-25.
  10. Valencia, Milton (2018-04-10). "Walsh commits $50 million to Long Island bridge in new budget - The Boston Globe". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2018-05-02.

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