Magazine Street bridge replacement

[John F. Carr]

Massachusetts is finally about to replace the old pedestrian bridge
over Memorial Drive in Cambridge. The cost is $4 million for a
footbridge over a 40 foot wide roadway. That is comparable to the
cost of a grade separation carrying a road over a freeway. Even
paying all the DCR's bridge engineers overtime to watch concrete
dry the planners must have had a hard time inflating the cost so high.

<http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/cambridge/2011/06/overnight_closures_for_memoria.html>

[Garrett Wollman]

Post by John F. Carr
Massachusetts is finally about to replace the old pedestrian bridge
over Memorial Drive in Cambridge.

"About to"? They've been working on it for at least three months now.

I suspect a large part of the expense is in the significantly
increased quantity of concrete. The old footbridge was mostly steel
with a concrete bearing surface.

-GAWollman

[Jimmy]

Post by Garrett Wollman
I suspect a large part of the expense is in the significantly
increased quantity of concrete.  The old footbridge was mostly steel
with a concrete bearing surface.

I couldn't believe how massive the new concrete supports are.

I would have thought a well-timed light at Magazine Street would be
better than an overpass, for several reasons: pedestrian friendliness,
cost, and allowing left turns. But well-timed lights aren't so common
around here.

I assume the temporary light will go away, and left turns from
Magazine to Mem Drive will remain banned, once the construction is
done.

Jimmy