Editing Longfellow Bridge (section)

{{short description|Bridge in Massachusetts}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox bridge
|bridge_name=Longfellow Bridge
|image=Longfellow Bridge, November 2019.jpg
|image_size=300px
|caption=Longfellow Bridge viewed from the Boston end in 2019
|alt=A bridge with metal arches and stone piers over a wide river
|official_name=
|carries={{jct|state=MA|MA|3}}, [[Red Line (MBTA)|MBTA Red Line]]
|crosses=[[Charles River]]
|locale=[[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]] to [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]]
|maint=[[Massachusetts Department of Transportation]]
|id=
|design= Steel rib [[arch bridge]]
|mainspan= {{convert|188.5|ft|m}}<ref name=jackson />
|length={{convert|1767.5|ft|m}}<ref name=jackson />
|width= {{convert|105|ft|m}}<ref name=jackson />
|height=
|load=
|clearance=
|below=
|traffic=28,600 cars and 90,000 mass-transit passengers
|begin=July 1900<ref name="jackson">{{cite book
| author2 = Cambridge Bridge Commission
| last1 = Jackson
| first1 = William
| author-link1 = William Jackson (engineer)
| title = Report of the Cambridge bridge commission and report of the chief engineer upon the construction of Cambridge bridge
| publisher = City of Boston Printing Department
| year = 1909
| page = 42
| ol = 7015322M
}}</ref>
|complete=
|open=August 3, 1906
|closed=
|rebuilt=2013–2018
|toll=
|coordinates= {{Coord|42.361635|N|71.07541|W|region:US_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

}}

The '''Longfellow Bridge''' is a steel rib [[arch bridge]] spanning the [[Charles River]] to connect [[Boston]]'s [[Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts|Beacon Hill]] neighborhood with the [[Kendall Square]] area of [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]]. The bridge carries [[Massachusetts Route 3]], the [[Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority|MBTA]] [[Red Line (MBTA)|Red Line]], bicycle, and pedestrian traffic. The structure was originally known as the '''Cambridge Bridge''', and a predecessor structure was known as the '''West Boston Bridge'''; Boston also continued to use "West Boston Bridge" officially for the new bridge. The bridge is also known to locals as the "'''Salt-and-Pepper Bridge'''"<ref>{{cite journal |last=Angelo |first=William J. |date=June 6, 2007 |title=Salt and Pepper Bridge Slated For Major Rehab in Boston |journal=Engineering News-Record |publisher=The McGraw-Hill Companies |access-date=December 11, 2011 |url=http://enr.construction.com/news/transportation/archives/070606a.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130603160241/http://enr.construction.com/news/transportation/archives/070606a.asp |archive-date=June 3, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> due to [[Salt and pepper shakers|the shape]] of its central towers.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Record of the Streets, Alleys, Places, Etc. in the City of Boston|date=1910|publisher=City of Boston Printing Department|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_MOpIAAAAMAAJ|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_MOpIAAAAMAAJ/page/n512 493]|access-date=25 February 2017}}</ref>

The bridge falls under the jurisdiction and oversight of the [[Massachusetts Department of Transportation]] (MassDOT).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mhd.state.ma.us/ProjectInfo/Main.asp?ACTION=ViewProject&PROJECT_NO=604361 |title=Bridge Rehabilitation, Cambridge Street over the Charles River |publisher=Mhd.state.ma.us |access-date=2011-08-31 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110410020702/http://www.mhd.state.ma.us/ProjectInfo/Main.asp?ACTION=ViewProject&PROJECT_NO=604361 |archive-date=2011-04-10 }}</ref> The bridge carries approximately 28,600 cars and 90,000 mass-transit passengers every weekday.<ref name=massdot>{{cite web| url = http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/Highway/abp/longfellow.aspx| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100804155334/http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/Highway/abp/longfellow.aspx| archive-date = 2010-08-04| title = MassDOT Highway Division: Longfellow Bridge Rehabilitation Project| year = 2010| publisher = MassDOT (Commonwealth of Massachusetts)| location = [[Boston, Massachusetts]]| access-date = 2010-08-22| quote = The bridge presently carries 28,000 motor vehicles, 90,000 transit users, and significant numbers of pedestrians and bicyclists each day.}}</ref>  A portion of the [[MBTA subway]]'s elevated [[Charles/MGH station]] lies at the eastern end of the bridge, which connects to [[Charles Circle (Boston)|Charles Circle]].