Motor Vehicle and Red Line Diversion on Longfellow Bridge Jan. 11-12

Longfellow Bridge

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) will close the Longfellow Bridge to all motor vehicle travel, except MBTA buses, from the start of service on Saturday, Jan. 11 through the end of service on Sunday, Jan. 12, weather permitting. Bus service will be in place for Boston and Cambridge-bound Red Line customers between Kendall/MIT Station and Park Street Station, with a stop at Charles/MGH Station. 

Red Line trains will resume service on Monday morning. This closure is to implement Red Line related work associated with ongoing bridge construction. Please visit the MBTA’s service updates webpage for additional information.

MBTA buses will be the only motor vehicles permitted on the bridge. All other motor vehicles including passenger vehicles, trucks and all other buses will need to use one of two routes shown on the detour map to reach Boston. One route uses Memorial Drive westbound to make a U-turn at Ames Street for access to Memorial Drive eastbound to Land Boulevard and Charles River Dam Road (Monsignor O’Brien Highway/Route 28) to reach Leverett Circle. A second route uses 3rd Street and Binney Street to reach Land Boulevard. Truck restrictions are in place for Memorial Drive.

Emergency response, bicycle and pedestrian access will be maintained across the bridge during the weekend diversion. Please note: Bicyclists will be asked to walk their bikes on the sidewalk across the Longfellow Bridge to ensure the safety of all bridge users.

The work will require closing Span 2 under the Longfellow Bridge to pedestrian and bicycle travel for public safety. A pedestrian and bicycle detour will be in place during the weekend using the pedestrian bridges at Charles Circle and adjacent to the Lee Memorial Wading Pool at Lederman Park. Lane restrictions on the westbound side of Storrow Drive will also be in place; however, one travel lane will be maintained at all times during the weekend.

The Cambridge-bound detour remains in place using a signed route from Charles Circle following Charles Street to Leverett Circle, Monsignor O’Brien Highway/Charles River Dam Road and Edwin H. Land Boulevard. For more information, please review the detour map.

The Longfellow Bridge, which connects Boston and Cambridge over the Charles River, is being rehabilitated as part of a three and a half year, $255.5 million effort funded through the Patrick Administration’s Accelerated Bridge Program. Rehabilitation of the iconic “salt and pepper” Longfellow Bridge will improve structural integrity and capacity, meet modern codes, including ADA accessibility, and create a safer configuration for more modes of travel.

Interested in keeping in touch with this project? Sign up for Longfellow Bridge project updates. For more information on the project, visit the website at www.mass.gov/massdot/longfellowbridge. For questions or to report issues or concerns, please contact the project team at 617-519-9892 or longfellowbridge@state.ma.us.