Soldiers Field Road: Difference between revisions
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It’s a major traffic bottleneck |
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{{for|the eastern continuation of this parkway|Storrow Drive}} |
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{{Infobox street |
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|name=Soldiers Field Road |
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|image=Soldiers Field Road.png |
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|caption= Soldiers Field Road highlighted in red |
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|length_mi=4.3 |
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|length_ref=<ref name="massgis"/><ref name="google maps">{{Google maps |url=https://goo.gl/maps/vhKxu |title=Soldiers Field Road |accessdate=November 23, 2014}}</ref> |
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|established= |
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|maint=[[Department of Conservation and Recreation (Massachusetts)|Massachusetts DCR]] |
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|coordinates={{coord|42|22|22|N|71|7|45|W|type:landmark_region:US|display=inline,title}} |
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|direction_a=West |
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|terminus_a={{jct|state=MA|US|20}} in [[Brighton, Boston|Brighton]] |
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|junction={{jct|state=MA|I|90|MATP}} in [[Allston]] |
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|direction_b=East |
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|terminus_b=[[Storrow Drive]] in [[Fenway–Kenmore]] |
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}} |
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'''Soldiers Field Road''' is a major crosstown parkway in [[Boston, Massachusetts]], running west to east from [[U.S. Route 20 in Massachusetts|U.S. Route 20]] in the northwest corner of [[Brighton, Massachusetts|Brighton]] to the [[Boston University Bridge]].<ref name="massgis">Office of Geographic and Environmental Information (MassGIS), Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs - http://www.mass.gov/mgis/dd-over.htm</ref> It follows the course of the [[Charles River]] and also passes by the campuses of [[Harvard University]] and [[Boston University]]. The road is named for the area south of the road on a bend in the Charles River which has been the home of [[Harvard Crimson]] athletics since the 1890s. |
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Although considered a "major crosstown street", the road has a 10-foot height restriction due to viaduct crossings. In 2013 one of these crossings was the site of a serious bus crash.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/02/02/bus-boston-crash-bridge/1886869/|title=After Harvard Visit, Dozens Injured in Bus Crash|publisher=[[USA Today]]|date=2013-02-04|accessdate=2013-02-04}}</ref> Speed limits range from {{convert|30|to|40|mph|km/h}} on various segments of the road. |
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==Route description== |
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[[Image:Soldiers Field Road eastbound, Allston MA.jpg|thumb|right|Looking eastbound in the [[Allston]] neighborhood]] |
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Soldiers Field Road is one link in a nearly nine-mile continuous roadway along the southern bank of the Charles River, continuing to the east as [[Storrow Drive]], David G. Mugar Way, and Embankment Road, and to the west as Nonantum Road. |
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The road begins at the intersection with Beacon Street and Nonantum Road. For the first 0.4 miles there is no median division, and there is at-grade access to local businesses. The road then passes under the [[Arsenal Street Bridge]] access roads. The road then passes south of the Northeastern University Boathouse and Charles River Community Garden, which it provides access to on the westbound side of the road. One half-mile east of the Arsenal Street Bridge there is a footbridge crossing over the road between Telford Street and the Artesani Playground, which is part of Christian Herter Park. There is access to and from the park at an at-grade intersection with Everett Street. As the road turns north it passes the [[WBZ-TV|WBZ]] headquarters and Smith Playground before following the perimeter of the Soldiers Field athletic facility, home to Harvard Athletics. The closest portions of the facility to the road are the field hockey field, tennis courts and practice fields. At the top of the bend in the Charles River the road intersects with the [[Eliot Bridge]], which heads west from the northern end of the bend, providing access to Greenough Boulevard, [[Mount Auburn Hospital]] and [[Mount Auburn Cemetery]] in neighboring [[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]]. As the road and the Charles bends southward, it passes Jordan Field (the soccer field), the Palmer Dixon Center, Dillon Field House, [[Lavietes Pavilion]] and Blodgett Pool to the southwest and the Newell Boathouse to the northeast of the road. |
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Soldiers Field Road then passes under North Harvard Street as it joins [[Anderson Memorial Bridge]]. It continues eastward past the [[Harvard Business School]] campus, where the river makes another bend at the [[John W. Weeks Bridge|Weeks Footbridge]]. The road then passes under the approach to the [[Western Avenue Bridge]], where traffic passes one way from Cambridge into the Allston neighborhood. Just three hundred yards later, the road passes under the approach road between Cambridge Street and the [[River Street Bridge (Charles River)|River Street Bridge]], which returns traffic from Allston to Cambridge. To the south of this bridge the road passes to the north and east of rail yards before paralleling the [[Massachusetts Turnpike]] from just east of the Allston tollbooths and past [[Boston University]] until just west of the [[Grand Junction Railroad Bridge]]. At this point the road and river split from the Mass Pike and pass under the [[Boston University Bridge]], at which point Soldiers Field Road becomes Storrow Drive. |
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==History== |
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{{main|Charles River Speedway}} |
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Portions of the current alignment of Soldiers Field Road were originally part of the Charles River Speedway, which was built in 1899. The speedway ran from just west of Telford Street to the site of the [[Eliot Bridge]] (which wasn't built until 1950).<ref name="speedway">{{cite web |url=http://www.bahistory.org/TrottingParks.html |title=Allston Trotting Parks |publisher=Brighton Allston Historical Society |accessdate=November 23, 2014}}</ref> The only surviving building relating to the speedway is the [[Charles River Reservation (Speedway)-Upper Basin Headquarters]], which formerly housed administrative and logistical personnel for the [[Metropolitan District Commission]]. |
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{{-}} |
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==Major intersections== |
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{{jcttop|state=MA|county=Suffolk|length_ref=<ref name="google maps"/>|unnum=yes}} |
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{{Jctint |
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|location_special=[[Brighton, Boston|Brighton]] |
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|mile=0.0 |
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|road={{jct|state=MA|US|20|name1=Beacon Street|road=Nonantum Road west|city1=Watertown Square|city2=Newton|city3=Brighton Center}} |
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|notes=Western terminus at a [[traffic circle]]}} |
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{{Jctint |
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|location_special=[[Allston]] |
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|lspan=4 |
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|mile=0.7 |
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|road=Western Avenue / Arsenal Street – [[Brighton Center, Boston|Brighton Center]], [[Watertown, Massachusetts|Watertown]] |
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|notes=Interchange}} |
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{{Jctint |
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|mile=2.0 |
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|road={{jct|state=MA|MA|2|US|3|road=[[Fresh Pond Parkway]]|city1=Arlington}} |
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|notes=Partial interchange}} |
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{{Jctint |
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|mile=2.5 |
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|road=Harvard Street – [[Harvard Square]], [[Allston]], [[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]] |
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|notes=Interchange}} |
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{{Jctint |
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|mile=3.1 |
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|type=toll |
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|road={{jct|state=MA|I|90|MATP|road=Western Avenue / Cambridge Street|city1=Central Square|city2=Cambridge}} |
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|notes=Interchange; tolled access to/from I-90}} |
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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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|type=incomplete |
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|road=University Road – [[Brookline, Massachusetts|Brookline]] |
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|notes=Eastern terminus; eastbound exit and entrance}} |
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{{Jctint |
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|mile=4.1 |
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|road=[[Storrow Drive]] east |
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|notes=Continuation beyond University Road}} |
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{{jctbtm|keys=incomplete,toll}} |
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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}} |
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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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* [[List of crossings of the Charles River]] |
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{{Streets and squares in Boston}} |
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{{Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston}} |
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[[Category:Streets in Boston]] |
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[[Category:Parkways in Massachusetts]] |
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Revision as of 13:14, 25 November 2018
It’s a major traffic bottleneck