Longfellow Bridge to Be Rebuilt in Spring

The Longfellow Bridge, a historic link between Cambridge and Boston, will undergo a rehabilitation this spring, and the state department of transportation released a video outlining just how this will get done. The bridge will be rebuilt in six phases, shown in this video published by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. The video – which MassDOT has set to some nice acoustic guitar strumming – breaks down each phase of the bridge repair in great detail. Overall, the historical features will remain intact, and the structural deficiencies will be updated and brought to modern standards. “In particular, the structural steel elements supporting the bridge deck have deteriorated and require upgrading, and the abutments will have to be modified slightly to allow the sidewalk approaches to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility guidelines,” according to a Feb. 27 MassDOT press release. The Longfellow Bridge runs along Main Street in Cambridge and connects Kendall Square with Boston’s West End.  The bridge, which opened in 1906, transports vehicles, pedestrians, bicycles as well as the MBTA Red Line. The Longfellow Bridge rehabilitation is part of Gov. Deval Patrick and MassDOT’s Accelerated Bridge Program, which as of January 1, 2013 the ABP Program has completed 121 bridge projects, with another 48 bridge projects currently in construction. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch

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