Boston

Longfellow Bridge Reopens After $300 Million Reconstruction Project

After five years of a major reconstruction project, traffic resumed Thursday morning on the Longfellow Bridge.

The bridge connecting Boston to Cambridge reopened at 5 a.m. and includes all vehicular travel lanes, separated bicycle lanes, sidewalks on both sides of the bridge, as well as the MBTA Red Line infrastructure.

Gov. Charlie Baker said in a statement that the completion of the project was his administration's commitment to improving "the reliability of core transportation infrastructure."

"The Department of Transportation is reaching this milestone not only due to the hard work of the work crews and engineers but also the support and coordination with local leaders and members of the public," Baker said.

The administration and MassDOT officials said as part of the Longfellow Bridge Rehabilitation Project, the bridge’s structural capacity was upgraded and one vehicular travel lane in the outbound direction was eliminated. Crews also widened the sidewalks and bicycle lanes were added. A new MBTA Red Line track was also put in place.

The final design of the bridge was a result of public feedback, according to MassDOT officials.

"Our administration has been proud to work closely with Boston, Cambridge and key stakeholders to rehabilitate the Longfellow Bridge to increase accessibility while maintaining the historical significance and notable design of this structure," said Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito.

MassDOT said it is the first major rehabilitation of the bridge since 1959. The $300 million project took five years to complete.

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