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The Maurice J. Tobin Memorial Bridge (formerly the Mystic River Bridge) is a cantilever truss bridge that spans more than Template:Convert from Boston to Chelsea over the Mystic River in Massachusetts, United States.<ref name=abel/> The bridge is the largest in New England.<ref name=abel>Template:Cite news</ref> It is operated by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and carries U.S. Route 1. It was built between 1948 and 1950 and opened to traffic on February 2, 1950, replacing the former Chelsea Bridge. The Template:Convert-wide roadway has three lanes of traffic on each of the two levels with northbound traffic on the lower level and southbound traffic on the upper level.
DescriptionEdit
The bridge is a three-span cantilevered truss bridge at Template:Convert in total length.<ref name=massport>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} </ref> The center span is longest at Template:Convert and the maximum truss height is Template:Convert. There are 36 approach spans to the north and 32 to the south. The roadway is seven lanes wide between the shortest (Template:Convert) span and the center – the former location of the toll plaza.
HistoryEdit
Chelsea BridgeEdit
Early transport between Boston and Winnisimmet (later Chelsea) was by the Winnisimmet Ferry. In 1803, the Salem Turnpike was extended across the Mystic River to Charlestown, where the Charles River Bridge then connected to downtown Boston. The new Mystic River bridge (Chelsea Bridge) had two draw spans and cost $53,000 (Template:Inflation) to construct.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Boston and Chelsea Railroad opened a single horsecar track over the bridge on November 20, 1858.<ref name=busreport />Template:Rp The toll was dropped on November 9, 1869, when the bridge and turnpike became state property.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Boston portion of the bridge was rebuilt in 1877, with a new iron draw span, while the Chelsea portion was also repaired. The Lynn and Boston Railroad (successor to the Boston and Chelsea Railroad) ran a pair of horsecar tracks across the bridge.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 1880, Chelsea paid Boston $25,000 (Template:Inflation) to permanently maintain the portion of the bridge within Chelsea, including the north draw.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=case>Template:Cite court</ref> The Boston portion was damaged by a fire on September 7, 1887.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Electric streetcars replaced the horsecars on the bridge in the early 1890s, with all-electric service effective March 13, 1893.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=busreport>Template:Humphrey Bus Report</ref>Template:Rp
Charlestown viaductEdit
The Boston and Lowell Railroad (B&L) purchased the Mystic River Railroad, an unbuilt paper railroad, in 1871. It constructed the line from Milk Row station around Charlestown to a new freight terminal built on filled land in the Mystic River between the two channels.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> After a legal battle with the Lynn and Boston Railroad about the right to cross its tracks, the B&L extended the branch across the Mystic Bridge, allowing ships to dock without passing through any bridges.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As the B&L and its successor Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) expanded Mystic Wharf in the 1880s, replacing the middle section of the bridge with a roadway on filled land, the grade crossings became a significant inconvenience and hazard to bridge traffic.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The railroad's construction of transatlantic port facilities, including a grain elevator and coal depot, along with additional crossings of the bridge road brought the issue to a head in 1892.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> That June, the state legislature passed an act authorizing Chelsea to pursue elimination of the grade crossings. The B&M was to pay 65% of the cost, the Lynn and Boston Railroad 5%, and the state 30% (of which part would be in turn paid by Boston and Chelsea).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Negotiations between the B&M, the Lynn and Boston, and the cities of Boston and Chelsea took place in 1893 over plans to raise the street onto a viaduct over the rail yard. The B&M was willing to build a viaduct with a wooden roadway Template:Convert wide, but the other parties insisted on a Template:Convert-wide roadway with a granite deck.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
A temporary south span and roadway opened on May 1, 1894, allowing construction of the viaduct to begin. This was closed to all but streetcar traffic on May 1, 1895. Streetcars began using the new viaduct on August 4, 1895, and it opened to general traffic on December 29. The viaduct was Template:Convert long and raised about Template:Convert above the old grade, with a Template:Convert-wide roadway and Template:Convert-wide sidewalk.<ref name=aug1894 /> Masonry piers spaced Template:Convert apart supported the iron viaduct, which cost $600,000 (Template:Inflation) to construct. A perpendicular ramp led from the viaduct to the rail yard below.<ref name=aug1894>Template:Cite news</ref> As part of the project, the north draw span was replaced by a retractile drawbridge and widened by Template:Convert to just under Template:Convert.<ref name=relief>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=case />
Draw span replacementsEdit
As the New England Gas and Coke Company prepared to open its new plant upstream, a further widening of the north draw became necessary to accommodate Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation ships serving the plant. Henry Melville Whitney offered to pay $40,000 on behalf of the company to secure a width of Template:Convert; however, the city instead chose a Template:Convert width.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Preliminary work began in late 1899.<ref name=oct1899>Template:Cite news</ref> A temporary bridge was funded by the gas company ($14,000) and the Lynn and Boston ($7,000). A contract for $21,471 for the construction of the new draw span was issued on February 26, 1900.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The new span opened on September 25, 1900, with a total cost around $75,000 (Template:Inflation)<ref name=oct1899 /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Another replacement of the north draw span began in early 1912, with the temporary bridge completed that August.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=may1912>Template:Cite news</ref> The new steel truss swing span – claimed to be the largest bridge span in New England – opened on May 28, 1913.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Template:Convert span rotated on 64 wheels on a Template:Convert diameter circular rail. It was Template:Convert long and Template:Convert wide, and could rotate to provide two Template:Convert-wide channels large enough for oceangoing ships.<ref name=march1913>Template:Cite news</ref> As part of the $425,000 project (Template:Inflation), the wooden pile approaches were raised to eliminate a slope from the Charlestown viaduct.<ref name=may1912 /><ref name=march1913 />
The city planned to replace the south draw span shortly afterwards at a nearly equal cost.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On March 14, 1914, the Template:Convert temporary span from the north draw was moved in one piece – using the tide to lift the span on lighters – to serve as the new temporary south draw.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The temporary span, with sharp reverse curves at both ends, remained in use longer than planned.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=april1924>Template:Cite news</ref> A $521,830 contract for the permanent span (Template:Inflation) was issued on April 26, 1922, and construction began on May 2.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=sept1923>Template:Cite news</ref> The new bridge opened on April 21, 1924.<ref name=april1924 /> It was Template:Convert long, with a four-leaf bascule draw Template:Convert long and Template:Convert wide, widening the channel to Template:Convert.<ref name=sept1923 />
By early 1934, the north section of Chelsea Bridge was in need of repairs.<ref name=davenport>Template:Cite thesis</ref>Template:Rp On June 27, 1934, traffic on the north draw was restricted to vehicles under Template:Convert except for streetcars, using only one lane in each direction.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The century-old drawtenders' house nearly collapsed into the river on July 23, 1934, as piles supporting it sank into the riverbed.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A $292,222 contract (Template:Inflation) for repairs to the north span was issued on October 26, 1934.<ref name=oct1934>Template:Cite news</ref> The bridge closed to all traffic effective January 14, 1935.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Initial plans had called for streetcar service by the Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway (successor to the Lynn and Boston) to be maintained during construction.<ref name=oct1934 /> However, the Eastern Mass instead operated buses between Chelsea Square and Haymarket Square via the Meridian Street Bridge and the newly opened Sumner Tunnel under a permit issued just two days prior.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=century>Template:Cite book</ref> The bridge reopened on December 23, 1935, without streetcar tracks; the Eastern Mass continued its bus operations.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=busreport />Template:Rp The Boston Elevated Railway began Chelsea Square–Template:Bts bus service over the bridge on July 2, 1936.<ref name=busreport />Template:Rp
Construction and financingEdit
The new bridge was originally operated by the Mystic River Bridge Authority. The bridge, according to the statute enacted May 23, 1946, would be turned over to the Massachusetts Department of Public Works once the $27 million in bonds used to finance the bridge's construction was retired. The bridge would then become part of the state highway system to be maintained and operated by the department free of tolls.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Operation of the bridge was turned over to the new Massachusetts Port Authority in 1956.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The Chelsea Bridge originally remained intact; the southern section remained open as truck access to Mystic Wharf, while the northern section was closed to traffic but still carried a water main across the Mystic River.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> State funding for a replacement water tunnel was approved in August 1950.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On January 28, 1951, six people in a wedding party died when they drove onto the Charlestown end of the closed bridge and fell into the river at the open north draw.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The north draw and the north section of the viaduct were removed in 1954.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A new street, Terminal Street, opened on August 21, 1956, to serve the Mystic Wharf; the old south draw was closed at that time and soon removed.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A new fixed bridge was built near the alignment of the former south draw in 1982 as part of a project to remove trucks from neighborhood streets in Charlestown.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It provides only Template:Convert clearance above the water, as the only vessels using the Little Mystic Channel were recreational boats using a 1970s-built boat ramp.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Later eventsEdit
In 1967, the Mystic River Bridge was renamed in honor of Maurice J. Tobin, former Boston mayor and Massachusetts governor. Construction of the bridge began during his term as governor (1945–1947). On May 2, 1983, one-way tolling was implemented on the Tobin Bridge and in the Sumner and Callahan tunnels in an attempt to reduce traffic jams. The northbound toll plaza was removed, while the southbound toll doubled to 50 cents.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The bridge was transferred from Massport to the new Massachusetts Department of Transportation effective January 1, 2010.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Chapter 25 of the Acts of 2009. Template:Webarchive Section 144. Section 156(b) reallocates bridge tolls from Massport to MassDOT effective July 1, 2010.</ref> The southbound toll plaza closed on July 21, 2014, and was later removed, in favor of all-electronic open road tolling. Both E-ZPass and "pay-by-mail" (using license plate number recognition) were accepted. This began a 2½ year process by MassDOT which converted all of the toll roads and bridges throughout the Commonwealth to automatic open road tolling.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2016, the $2.50 southbound toll was replaced with $1.25 tolls in both directions, with a 30-cent surcharge for pay-by-mail.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In September 2017, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation announced a three-year $41.6 million project to restore the bridge deck, repair steel, and paint a portion of the bridge. The work ran April through November in 2018, 2019, and 2020.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
IncidentsEdit
In 1973, a gravel truck traveling over the lower deck crashed into a support, collapsing the upper deck onto the truck and killing the driver. Later that year, the bridge reopened after more than two months of repair.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On January 4, 1990, racial hoaxer and double murderer Charles Stuart committed suicide by jumping from the bridge. Suicides and attempted suicides have been an issue for authorities in general as the design and weight of the bridge makes it impossible to add suicide prevention devices.<ref name="BHTB">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> MassDOT employees are thus trained to monitor security cameras and watch for any vehicles that stop on the bridge.<ref name="BHTB"/>