Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge in the context of "Central Artery"

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⭐ Core Definition: Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge

The Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge (/ˈzeɪkəm/; also known as "The Zakim") is a cable-stayed bridge completed in 2003 across the Charles River in Boston, Massachusetts. It replaces the Charlestown High Bridge, an older truss bridge constructed in the 1950s.

The bridge and connecting tunnel were built as part of the Big Dig, the largest highway construction project in the United States. The bridge's unique styling quickly became an icon for Boston, often featured in the backdrop of national news channels, to establish location, and included on tourist souvenirs. The bridge is commonly referred to as the "Zakim Bridge" or "Bunker Hill Bridge" by residents of nearby Charlestown.

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👉 Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge in the context of Central Artery

The Central Artery (officially the John F. Fitzgerald Expressway) is the concurrent section of Interstate 93, US 1 and Route 3 through Downtown Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The modern-day Artery, built as part of the Big Dig from 1995 until 2003, begins at the Southeast Expressway in the South End. Traveling north, it has an interchange with the east–west Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90), and travels beneath the Financial District and Government Center through the O'Neill Tunnel. Route 3 exits onto the Leverett Connector within the tunnel in Charlestown; US 1 exits aboveground from the Zakim Bridge onto the Tobin Bridge, and I-93 continues on the Northern Expressway toward New Hampshire beyond the bridge.

The original Artery, constructed in the 1950s, was named after John F. Fitzgerald; it was partly elevated and partly tunneled. Its reputation for congestion inspired the local nicknames "The Distressway," "the largest parking lot in the world", and "the other Green Monster" (the paint of the highway girders shared the same color as the left field wall at Fenway Park). The original Artery was demolished after the O'Neill Tunnel was completed, and was replaced with the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, named after the daughter of John F. Fitzgerald and the mother of John F. Kennedy.

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Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge in the context of Big Dig

The Big Dig was a megaproject in Boston that rerouted the elevated Central Artery of Interstate 93 into the O'Neill Tunnel and built the Ted Williams Tunnel to extend Interstate 90 to Logan International Airport. Those two projects were the origin of the official name, the Central Artery/Tunnel Project (CA/T Project). The megaproject constructed the Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge over the Charles River, created the Rose Kennedy Greenway in the space vacated by the previous elevated roadway and funded more than a dozen projects to improve the region's public transportation system. Planning began in 1982 and construction was carried out between 1991 and 2006. The project concluded in December 2007.

The project's general contractor was Bechtel, with Parsons Brinckerhoff as the engineers, who worked as a consortium, both overseen by the Massachusetts Highway Department. The Big Dig was the most expensive highway project in the United States, and was plagued by cost overruns, delays, leaks, design flaws, accusations of poor execution and use of substandard materials, criminal charges and arrests, and the death of one motorist.

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Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge in the context of Interstate 93

Interstate 93 (I-93) is an Interstate Highway in the New England states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont in the United States. Spanning approximately 190 miles (310 km) along a north–south axis, it is one of three primary Interstate Highways located entirely within New England; the other two are I-89 and I-91. The largest cities along the route are Boston, and Manchester, New Hampshire; it also travels through the New Hampshire state capital of Concord.

I-93 begins at an interchange with I-95, US Route 1 (US 1) and Route 128 in Canton, Massachusetts. It travels concurrently with US 1 beginning in Canton, and, with Route 3 beginning at the Braintree Split on the Braintree–Quincy city line, through the Central Artery in Downtown Boston before each route splits off beyond the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge. The portion of highway between the Braintree Split and the Central Artery is named the "Southeast Expressway", while the portion from Boston to the New Hampshire state line is named the "Northern Expressway".

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Big Dig ← Central Artery ← Interstate 93
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Cable-stayed bridge → Charles River → Boston → Massachusetts → Charlestown High Bridge → Truss bridge → Big Dig → Highway → Secular icon → Charlestown, Boston →