Storrow Drive: Difference between revisions
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It’s a major traffic bottleneck |
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{{for|the western continuation of this parkway|Soldiers Field Road}} |
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{{Infobox street |
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|name=Storrow Drive |
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|alternate_name=[[James J. Storrow|James Jackson Storrow]] Drive<br>[[David G. Mugar]] Way |
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|image=Storrow_Drive.png |
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|length_mi=1.98<!--MP4.0372 to MP6.0124 of Route N082--> |
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|length_ref= |
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|length_notes=as Storrow Drive |
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|inauguration_date=1951<ref name="opening"/> |
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|maint=[[Department of Conservation and Recreation (Massachusetts)|Massachusetts DCR]] |
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|direction_a=West |
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|terminus_a=[[Soldiers Field Road]] in [[Fenway–Kenmore]] |
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|junction={{jct|state=MA|MA|2A}} in [[Back Bay]]<br>{{jct|state=MA|MA|28}} in Back Bay |
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|direction_b=East |
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|terminus_b={{jct|state=MA|I|93|US|1|MA|3|MA|28}} in [[West End, Boston|West End]] |
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}} |
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[[File:Storrow Drive, Boston.jpg|thumb|right|240px|Storrow Drive, Leverett Circle Tunnel]] |
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'''Storrow Drive''' is a major crosstown [[parkway]] in [[Boston, Massachusetts]], running east and north along the [[Charles River]] to [[Leverett Circle]].<ref name=gershkoff>{{cite book|title=The Boston Driver's Handbook: Wild in the Streets: The Almost Post Big Dig Edition |edition=3rd |first=Ira|last=Gershkoff|author2=Richard Trachtman |pages=27–29|year=2004|publisher=Da Capo Press |location=Cambridge, MA |isbn=0-306-81326-2 |oclc=53970660 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cx4nXwtU2Q8C&lpg=PA28&pg=PA27#v=twopage&f=false}}</ref> It is restricted to cars; trucks and buses are not permitted on it. The road, legally known as '''[[James Jackson Storrow]] Memorial Drive''', officially ends at its eastward junction with [[Route 28 (Massachusetts)|Route 28]] (near Arlington Street) and continues as '''[[David G. Mugar]] Way''' (formerly '''Embankment Road'''), [[Concurrency (road)|concurrent]] with Route 28. |
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Boston drivers use the route for quick access to downtown locations.<ref name=gershkoff/> Westbound Storrow Drive has a junction with the [[Harvard Bridge]] ([[Route 2A (Massachusetts)|Route 2A]], or [[Massachusetts Avenue (Boston)|Mass. Ave]]). It passes along the northern edge of [[Boston University]] until it reaches a partial junction with the [[Boston University Bridge]] ([[Route 2 (Massachusetts)|Route 2]]), where it becomes [[Soldiers Field Road]]. |
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Both Storrow Drive and Soldiers Field Road are maintained by the [[Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation]] and are part of the parkway system interconnecting the [[Emerald Necklace]] in Boston and [[Brookline, Massachusetts|Brookline]]. Together with [[Memorial Drive (Cambridge)|Memorial Drive]] and the Cambridge Parkway, Storrow Drive is also part of the [[Charles River Basin Historic District]] (listed in the [[National Register of Historic Places]]). Prior to 1989, Storrow Drive also carried the [[US Route 1]] designation; US Route 1 is now routed concurrently along [[Interstate 93]]. |
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==Namesake== |
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The parkway is named for [[James J. Storrow]], an investment banker who led a campaign to create the Charles River Basin and preserve and improve the riverbanks as a public park. He had never advocated a parkway beside the river, and his widow publicly opposed it.<ref>{{cite paper | author = Berg, FASLA, Shary Page | title = Charles River Esplanade Study Report | publisher = Boston Landmarks Commission | date = June 23, 2009 | url = http://www.cityofboston.gov/images_documents/Charles%20River%20Esplanade%20Study%20Report,%20as%20amended_tcm3-12653.pdf | format = PDF |page=33 | accessdate = 2015-05-07 }}</ref> |
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==Traffic issues== |
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[[File:Storrowandcitgo.JPG|thumb|right|240px|Storrow Drive mid-afternoon]] |
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The road is notorious for speeding and aggressive driving because police enforcement along the road is difficult without a breakdown lane. Radio traffic reports have warned motorists about "ponding" on Storrow Drive, which occurs when snow and frozen ground prevent water from draining properly into storm drains.<ref>{{cite book |title=Morsels from the Better Mousetrap: Tips, Tricks and Tales About Corporate Communications for Small Businesses |first=Dick |last=Amsterdam |author2=Nancy Parsons |year=2000 |publisher=Xlibris Corporation |isbn=0-7388-1674-4 |oclc=0738816744 |page=143}}{{Self-published inline|certain=yes|date=January 2018}}</ref> The underpasses also commonly flood during heavy rains, sometimes stalling low-riding cars.<ref name="storrowing">[http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2015/08/31/has-boston-outsmarted-storrowing/mVgQ1trEmd1ss7ZVkBxe9H/story.html Has Boston outsmarted Storrowing?<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Additional problems include narrow lanes and very limited visibility on short entrance ramps. |
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===Concert parking=== |
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During some summer night concerts at the [[Hatch Shell]], many drivers park their cars in the outbound lanes of Storrow Drive. The free concerts and fireworks displays attract 200,000 people, and many take advantage of the free parking.<ref name=gershkoff/> |
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===Low clearance=== |
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There is an abundance of signs giving road clearance height. Despite the signs, a truck or other large vehicle will periodically get wedged under a bridge, which causes traffic to back up for several miles. In one incident a truck full of scissors became stuck and spilled its cargo, causing more than 30 cars to get flat tires.<ref name=gershkoff/> There is a {{convert|10|foot|m}} height limit for the entire parkway.<ref>[http://www2.cambridgema.gov/cityClerk/PolicyOrder.cfm?action=search&item_id=39823&pv=Yes Cambridge, MA policy order resolution], February 11, 2013.</ref> Local media has taken to referring to these kinds of accidents as a truck being "Storrowed".<ref>''[http://www.universalhub.com/topics/driving/storrowed Universal Hub]''</ref> |
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==History== |
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Between 1958 and 1971, Storrow Drive was designated '''Massachusetts Routes C1 and C9'''.<ref>{{cite web|title=1938 Map of Boston|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1938_Map_of_Greater_Boston.jpg|publisher=WCVB / MassDOT|accessdate=27 February 2018}}</ref> |
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===Early opposition=== |
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[[James Storrow]] had been instrumental in earlier projects along the Charles River, in particular the Charles River Dam. Additions to the [[Charles River Esplanade]] had been made during the 1930s only by omitting an important part of the project, a proposed highway from the [[Longfellow Bridge]] to the Cottage Farm (Boston University) Bridge, which had provoked tremendous protest.<ref name=seaholes>{{cite book |title=Gaining Ground: A History of Landmaking in Boston|first=Nancy S.|last=Seasholes|year=2003|publisher=MIT Press |location=Cambridge, MA |isbn=0-262-19494-5|page=206 |oclc=470179960 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GAHs1C9q1EsC&lpg=PA206&pg=PA206#v=onepage&f=false}}</ref> After [[Helen Storrow]], the wife of the now deceased James Storrow, supported a group opposed to the highway, it was dropped;<ref name=seaholes/> part of the funding was to have come from a million-dollar gift from her.<ref>"Fight begins on $4,855,000 Basin Project", ''[[Boston Evening Transcript]]'', March 6, 1929.</ref> Soon after Helen Storrow's death in 1944, a new proposal for the construction of the highway was pushed through the Massachusetts Legislature. In spite of still strong opposition, and through some dubious parliamentary procedures, the bill approving construction of the highway and naming it after James Storrow was passed in 1949.<ref>"Embankment Road approved by House in stormy session", ''[[The Boston Globe]]'', April 29, 1949.</ref> |
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===Construction=== |
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Construction took place in the years 1950–1951. As part of the attempt to preserve park land, any land used by the highway had to be replaced by reclaiming new land along the shoreline.<ref>[[Massachusetts General Court]] Acts of 1949, Chap. 262</ref> Storrow Drive was officially opened in a ribbon cutting ceremony by Governor [[Paul A. Dever]] on June 15, 1951.<ref name="opening">{{cite news |
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|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1951/06/16/archives/massachusetts-road-opened.html |
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|title=Massachusetts Road Opened |
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|work=[[The New York Times]] |
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|date=1951-06-16 |
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|at=Sports section, Page 13 |
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|accessdate=2007-02-22}}</ref> |
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An on-ramp leading from southbound Massachusetts Avenue to eastbound Storrow Drive was constructed but later removed, leaving an island of greenspace between the inbound and outbound carriageways.<ref name="storrowing" /> Overpasses to Fenway via Charlesgate and in the vicinity of Massachusetts General Hospital were completed a few years later; the Arthur Fiedler Footbridge was completed in 1953.<ref name="storrowing" /> In 1960, high-pressure air from a sewage tunnel under construction caused a geyser-like eruption and damaged the roadway near the BU bridge.<ref name="storrowing" /> The pedestrian overpass near the Longfellow Bridge was constructed in 1962.<ref name="storrowing" /> A "Reverse Curve" sign near downtown was vandalized to say "Reverse the Curse", a reference to the [[Curse of the Bambino]]; the sign was removed after the [[Red Sox]] won the [[2004 World Series]]. |
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==Future== |
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The Storrow Drive Tunnel, through which Storrow Drive runs along the [[Charles River Reservation|Esplanade]] just north of Clarendon, Berkeley and Arlington Streets, has been deteriorating since it was built in 1951. By mid-2007, the [[Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation|Department of Conservation and Recreation]] determined that repairing the tunnel may be impossible because it was not waterproofed when it was built, and damage in the intervening years has been significant. Consequently the tunnel may have to be rebuilt at a cost upward of $200 million, a project that would require closing critical sections of Storrow Drive to traffic.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/07/24/storrow_tunnel_may_need_replacing/ |title=Storrow Tunnel may need replacing |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |
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|date=2007-07-24 |
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|accessdate=2008-05-05}}</ref> |
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Despite the chaos this project would cause to drivers, it also could present an opportunity for the city to improve the area. For example, former [[Thomas Menino|Boston Mayor Thomas Menino]] proposed covering Storrow Drive near the pedestrian [[Arthur Fiedler]] Bridge, replacing the old [[overpass]] with a wide, ground-level park space that would better connect the green space of [[Boston Public Garden|Boston's Public Garden]] with the Esplanade.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2008/03/19/new_vision_over_storrow_drive/ |title=New vision over Storrow Drive |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |date=2008-03-19 |accessdate=2008-05-05}}</ref> |
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Other plans for the road propose closing it to traffic on Sunday mornings in the summer, much as is done across the river on [[Memorial Drive (Cambridge)|Memorial Drive]] in Cambridge. This would create a recreational area for walking, biking and roller blading on weekends, though this has been criticized as unnecessary due to the presence of the nearby Esplanade paths and the existing Memorial Drive road closure. Regardless, Storrow Drive east of [[Massachusetts Avenue (Boston)|Massachusetts Avenue]] is usually closed to traffic and open to pedestrians and cyclists during the [[Independence Day (United States)|Independence Day]] (July 4) celebration at the Esplanade. |
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==Exit list== |
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Mileposts are continued from [[Soldiers Field Road]]. The entire route is in [[Boston]], [[Suffolk County, Massachusetts|Suffolk County]]. {{jcttop|state=MA|county=Suffolk|hatnote=off|length_ref=<ref name="soldiers field">{{Google maps |url=https://goo.gl/maps/vhKxu |title=Soldiers Field Road |accessdate=November 23, 2014}}</ref><ref name="storrow mugar">{{google maps |url=https://goo.gl/maps/tOzVk |title=Storrow Drive and David G. Mugar Way |accessdate=November 23, 2014}}</ref>|unnum=yes}} |
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{{Jctint |
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|location_special=[[Fenway–Kenmore]] |
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|lspan=2 |
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|mile=4.1 |
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|road=[[Soldiers Field Road]] west – [[Newton, Massachusetts|Newton]], [[Watertown, Massachusetts|Watertown]] |
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|notes=Continuation beyond University Road}} |
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{{Jctint |
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|mile=4.1 |
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|type=incomplete |
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|road=University Road – [[Brookline, Massachusetts|Brookline]] |
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|notes=Eastbound exit and entrance; serves [[Boston University|BU]]<br> To [[U.S. Route 20 in Massachusetts|US 20]]}} |
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{{Jctint |
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|location_special=[[Back Bay]] |
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|lspan=4 |
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|mile=4.9<!--4.1+0.7--> |
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|road=[[Kenmore Square]], [[Fenway (parkway)|Fenway]] |
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|notes=Access via Charlesgate; former alignment of [[U.S. Route 1 in Massachusetts|US 1]]}} |
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{{Jctint |
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|mile=5.0<!--4.1+0.9--> |
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|type=incomplete |
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|road={{jct|state=MA|MA|2A|dir1=west|city1=Cambridge|city2=Arlington}} |
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|notes=Westbound exit only}} |
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{{Jctint |
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|mile=5.6<!--4.1+1.5--> |
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|type=trans |
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|road={{jct|state=MA|MA|28|dir1=south|location1=[[Copley Square]]|location2=[[Back Bay]]}} |
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|notes=Storrow Drive becomes David G. Mugar Way<br>Western terminus of concurrency with Route 28}} |
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{{Jctint |
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|mile=5.8<!--4.1+1.7--> |
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|type=incomplete |
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|road=[[Downtown Boston]] |
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|notes=Eastbound exit only}} |
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{{Jctint |
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|location_special=[[Beacon Hill, Boston|Beacon Hill]] |
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|mile=6.2<!--4.1+2.1--> |
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|type=concur |
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|road=[[Government Center, Boston|Government Center]] |
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|notes=Western terminus of concurrency with [[Massachusetts Route 3|Route 3]]}} |
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{{Jctint |
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|location_special=[[West End, Boston|West End]] |
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|lspan=2 |
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|mile=6.5<!--4.1+2.4--> |
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|type=incomplete |
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|road={{jct|state=MA|I|93|US|1|dir1=north|dir2=north|location1=[[Tobin Bridge]]|location2=[[Concord, NH]]}} |
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|notes=Eastbound exit only (via tunnel)}} |
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{{Jctint |
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|mile=6.6<!--4.1+2.5--> |
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|type=concur |
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|road={{jct|state=MA|I|93|US|1|MA|3|location1=[[Tobin Bridge]]|location2=[[Concord, NH]]|city3=Quincy|location4=[[Logan Airport]]|extra=airport}}<br>{{jct|state=MA|MA|28|dir1=north|name1=O'Brien Highway|city1=Cambridge|city2=Stoneham}}<br>Martha Road – [[North Station]] |
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|notes=Eastern terminus at [[Leverett Circle]]<br>Eastern terminus of concurrency with Routes 3 and 28}} |
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{{jctbtm|keys=incomplete,trans,concur}} |
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==Pedestrian crossings== |
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Because Storrow Drive is a high-speed [[limited-access road]], pedestrian access is prevented by a series of perimeter fences. To connect the [[Charles River Esplanade]] (a popular park and recreational area along the south bank of the river) to adjacent Boston neighborhoods, a number of [[pedestrian overpass]]es have been constructed. Listed in order from downstream to upstream, they are:<ref name=Cherubino>{{cite web|last1=Cherubino|first1=Penny|last2=Cherubino|first2=Ed|title=How to Get to the Esplanade from Boston|url=http://www.bostonzest.com/2010/06/how-to-get-to-the-esplanade-from-boston.html|website=Boston Zest|accessdate=2015-08-20|date=June 29, 2010}}</ref><ref name=Access>{{cite web|title=Getting to the Park|url=http://www.esplanadeassociation.org/about-the-park/getting-there/|website=The Esplanade Association|accessdate=2015-08-20|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924002214/http://www.esplanadeassociation.org/about-the-park/getting-there/|archivedate=2015-09-24|df=}}</ref> |
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*Blossom Street bridge (near [[Massachusetts General Hospital]]) |
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*[[Frances Appleton Bridge]] (at Cambridge Street, next to [[Longfellow Bridge]]) |
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*[[Arthur Fiedler]] Bridge (connecting to the [[Hatch Memorial Shell]] near Arlington Street) |
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*Dartmouth Street bridge |
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*Fairfield Street bridge |
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*[[Harvard Bridge]] (at [[Massachusetts Avenue (metropolitan Boston)|Massachusetts Avenue]]) |
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*[[John Silber|Silber Way]] bridge |
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*Boston University [[Marsh Chapel]] bridge |
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*[[Boston University Bridge]] |
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==See also== |
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* [[Memorial Drive (Cambridge)|Memorial Drive]], on the opposite side of the river in Cambridge |
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* [[Charles River Bike Path]] |
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*[[Charles River Reservation]] |
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* [[List of crossings of the Charles River]] |
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==References== |
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{{Reflist|30em}} |
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==External links== |
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* [http://www.bostonroads.com/roads/storrow/ Storrow Drive on Steve Anderson's BostonRoads.com] |
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* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MriF1morfU Recorded Youtube Video, Storrow Drive: Boston, MA Freewayjim, 2012-09-21] |
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{{start srbox}} |
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{{ma browse|previous_type=Route|previous_route=9|route=[[File:MA Route C9.svg|20px]]|next_type=Route|next_route=10}} |
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{{S-end}} |
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{{Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston}} |
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{{Streets and squares in Boston}} |
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{{coord|42|21|08|N|71|05|19|W|region:US-MA_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki|display=title}} |
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[[Category:Streets in Boston]] |
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[[Category:Parkways in Massachusetts]] |
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[[Category:U.S. Route 1]] |
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Revision as of 13:13, 25 November 2018
It’s a major traffic bottleneck