John F. Fitzgerald Expressway

{{Infobox road | name = John F. Fitzgerald Expressway | state = MA | type = I | route = 93 | maint = Massachusetts Department of Transportation | length_mi = 1.5 | length_round = 1 | established = 1959 | direction_a = South | terminus_a = I-93 / US 1 in Boston | direction_b = North | terminus_b = I-93 / US 1 in Boston | counties = Suffolk | system = } John F. Fitzgerald Expressway is a 1.5-mile segment of Interstate 93 and U.S. Route 1 located in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is a critical but heavily congested artery running beneath the Government Center area, notorious for its tight curves and aging infrastructure. The expressway is named for John F. Fitzgerald, the former Mayor of Boston and grandfather of President John F. Kennedy.

History

The expressway was constructed as part of the mid-20th century Interstate Highway System expansion, opening to traffic in 1959. Its construction, led by the Massachusetts Department of Public Works, required significant demolition in the West End and North End neighborhoods, contributing to widespread urban renewal controversies. The design, featuring a depressed roadway through the city's core, was soon criticized for creating a physical and social barrier. By the 1990s, the structure's deterioration and the success of the nearby Big Dig project, which rerouted the Central Artery, intensified calls for its removal or redesign.

Route description

The expressway begins at the northern limit of the Big Dig's Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. Tunnel, near the intersection with Atlantic Avenue and the North Station transportation hub. It travels northbound in a trench, passing beneath Cambridge Street and skirting the edges of the West End and Beacon Hill. The roadway features narrow lanes, substandard shoulders, and sharp curves with low design speeds, creating a notorious bottleneck. It surfaces near the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge, where it merges with the elevated highway structure carrying traffic toward Charlestown and I-93 north.

Major intersections

The entire route is in Boston, Suffolk County. {| class="wikitable" |- ! mi ! km ! Destinations ! Notes |- | 0.0 | 0.0 | I-93 south / US 1 south – Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. Tunnel, South Station | Southern terminus; continuation from tunnel |- | 0.2 | 0.32 | Cambridge Street – Government Center | At-grade intersection |- | 0.8 | 1.3 | Lomasney Way / Storrow Drive | Access to Storrow Drive and the West End |- | 1.5 | 2.4 | I-93 north / US 1 north – Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge, Charlestown | Northern terminus; continuation to elevated highway |}

Future and proposed projects

For decades, numerous plans have been proposed to address the expressway's problems, often under the umbrella name "North Station Project" or "Charlestown Crossing." The most transformative proposal, supported by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the City of Boston, involves burying the highway in a new tunnel and capping the trench with developable land, reconnecting severed neighborhoods. This concept aligns with broader regional goals managed by the Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization. Funding and environmental reviews, including studies by the Federal Highway Administration, remain significant hurdles for any large-scale project.

See also

* Big Dig * Central Artery * Interstate 93 in Massachusetts * Massachusetts Department of Transportation * Urban renewal in the United States

Category:Interstate 93 Category:Transportation in Boston Category:Expressways in Massachusetts