60-574: Interstate 695 ( I-695 ; also called the Inner Belt ) was a planned six-lane auxiliary Interstate Highway in Boston, Massachusetts , that would have run through parts of Boston, Brookline , Cambridge , and Somerville . The highway would have been called I-695 and would have provided a circumferential route inside the Route ;128 corridor. A 1955 plan suggested this routing: (A 1948 plan called for
120-468: A loop route ) completely surrounds a metropolitan city, and it is often connected with multiple junctions to other routes. Unlike other auxiliary Interstate Highways (and by extension, all primary Interstate Highways ), beltways do not have termini; however, they have a place where the highway mileage resets to zero. Beltways are also preceded by an even number in the first digit. Some examples of beltways include: Alewife station Alewife station
180-516: A "Chinese wall" dividing long established neighborhoods, and gutted large parts of the city of Cambridge and the Boston neighborhood of Roxbury . There was also speculation that the construction of the Inner Belt would essentially bypass Downtown Boston completely, resulting in economic stagnation in a city that was already having considerable financial problems. Unresolved traffic problems resulting from
240-499: A five-story parking garage for park and ride use. The station has three bike cages . Alewife station is named after nearby Alewife Brook Parkway and Alewife Brook, themselves named after the alewife fish. The Fitchburg Railroad (now the MBTA Commuter Rail Fitchburg Line ) opened through North Cambridge in 1842, followed by the now-closed Lexington Branch and Fitchburg Cutoff branch lines. An extension of
300-459: A popular commuter route, necessitating additional bike storage at Alewife. On September 18, 2008, the MBTA opened two 150-bike parking cages on the ground level of the garage. A third cage was added around 2013 as the MBTA built bike cages at a number of stations. By the 2000s, the parking garage frequently filled to capacity. In April 2008, the MBTA said that it did not have funds to add two levels to
360-723: A type of fish long associated with the Massachusetts Bay area. By the time the Red Line Northwest Extension began construction in 1978, opposition in Arlington and reductions in federal funding had caused the MBTA to choose a shorter alternative with Alewife as the terminus. The Fitchburg Cutoff was abandoned in 1979 to allow construction of the extension. The station was constructed by the Perini Corporation . On January 12, 1981, construction worker Ulysses Lemon
420-446: A typical 3-digit Interstate Highway, bypasses usually have both its two termini junctioned with another Interstate highway. Bypass routes are preceded by an even number in the first digit. Examples include: In the case of an auxiliary Interstate highway which has both ends at Interstates but not the same Interstate, some states treat these as bypasses while others treat these as spurs—see Spur route above. A beltway (also known as
480-655: Is a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) intermodal transit station in the North Cambridge neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts . It is the northwest terminal of the rapid transit Red Line (part of the MBTA subway system) and a hub for several MBTA bus routes. The station is at the confluence of the Minuteman Bikeway , Alewife Linear Park , Fitchburg Cutoff Path , and Alewife Greenway off Alewife Brook Parkway adjacent to Massachusetts Route 2 , with
540-423: Is usually one of the following: Examples include: Sometimes, a three-digit Interstate Highway branches off from another three-digit Interstate Highway. These spurs do not connect directly with their parent highways, but are associated with them via the three-digit highways they do intersect with. Examples include: A bypass route may traverse around a city, or may run through it with the mainline bypassing. In
600-571: The Alewife Linear Park runs along the north side of the garage and past the east headhouse. Five MBTA bus routes – 62 , 62/76 , 67 , 76 , and 350 – terminate at the busway inside the Alewife garage. The routes serve northwestern suburbs including Arlington , Lexington , and Burlington . Route 83 terminates nearby at Russell Field because is not possible to turn left from Alewife Brook Parkway onto Rindge Avenue, preventing
660-512: The Boston and Lowell Railroad (B&L) bought the Lexington Branch to prevent it from being a competitor. The B&L constructed a new line from near West Cambridge to Somerville Junction to connect the branch with its mainline. Among the stops on the new line was North Cambridge (North Avenue) at what is now Massachusetts Avenue . The Massachusetts Central Railroad (later Central Massachusetts Railroad ) opened in 1881; it paralleled
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#1732847656065720-718: The Fitchburg Cutoff , with a possible further extension along the Lexington Branch. A northwards extension from Harvard to the North Cambridge/Arlington border was proposed by Cambridge mayor John D. Lynch in 1933 and by then-freshmen state representative Tip O'Neill in 1936, but was not pursued. The 1945 Coolidge Commission report – the first major transit planning initiative in the region since 1926 – recommended an extension from Harvard to Arlington Heights via East Watertown. The 1947 revision recommended an extension north to Porter Square instead, with branches along
780-531: The Fitchburg Railroad to Waltham and the Lexington Branch to Lexington. The 1966 Program for Mass Transportation called for an immediate extension to Alewife Brook Parkway (the eastern terminus of the Concord Turnpike ) via Porter Square , with possible future extensions to Arlington or Waltham. Original plans called for a subway under Massachusetts Avenue to Porter Square, then a surface route along
840-621: The Route 3 /I-95 junction at the southern terminus of the beltway). Some, but not all, of these remnants have been demolished as part of the Big Dig; in particular, the Leverett Circle Connector Bridge uses the northern pair of ramps in Somerville and had to be built around the southern pair of ramps. A still-extant but barricaded spur just north of the new Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge on both levels of I-93 north
900-449: The 1912-opened Cambridge–Dorchester line to North Cambridge was first proposed in the 1930s, though planning for the project did not begin until the 1960s. The Red Line Northwest Extension project included a station at Alewife Brook Parkway to capture traffic from Route 2, as a planned extension of the highway was cancelled in 1970. Construction began in 1979; with the planned route to Arlington Heights rejected by Arlington , Alewife became
960-559: The Boston Transportation Planning Review, which focused on the implementation of new transit routes. This placed increased pressure on a Red Line extension at least as far as a park-and-ride station at Alewife Brook Parkway to handle Route 2 traffic. By the mid-1970s, the project was split into two phases: an all-subway extension to Arlington Heights via Alewife, with a later extension to Route 128. Three general sites were considered for Alewife station, depending on
1020-625: The Cambridge City Council, which became committed to stopping the project. The following year, in 1966, Cambridge residents protested the Inner Belt outside the Massachusetts State House , leading then-Governor John A. Volpe to order a restudy of the highway's route through Cambridge. The Black United Front (established in 1968) also mobilized residents in Roxbury against the Inner Belt and broader racial justice issues, working with
1080-616: The Fitchburg Route to Alewife. In the late 1960s, the project was expanded to follow the Lexington Branch to a terminal at Route 128 . By then, highway plans called for the Concord Turnpike (Route 2) to be expanded to eight lanes and extended east along the Fitchburg Line right-of-way to the proposed Inner Belt Expressway . In 1970, then-governor Francis Sargent suspended most highway construction inside Route 128 and created
1140-629: The Fitchburg west of Hills Crossing, then turned slightly north to meet the Lexington Branch at North Cambridge. The B&L was acquired by the Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) in 1887, followed by the Fitchburg in 1900. In 1926–27, the B&;M built two new sections of track; these allowed the Lexington Branch and the Central Massachusetts Railroad to use the Fitchburg mainline east of West Cambridge. On April 24, 1927, passenger service
1200-654: The Interstate System as I-95. The right-of-way for the I-695 portion of the beltway in Roxbury had already been cleared and now contains an arterial road , Melnea Cass Boulevard . The former Southwest Corridor portion of the right-of-way was converted into Southwest Corridor Park and the new route for the new depressed southern section of Boston's Orange Line subway, from Tufts Medical Center station southwestward. The older elevated Orange Line right-of-way along Washington Street
1260-468: The Line to add public art to new and renovated subway stations. For the Red Line Northwest Extension, 0.5% of the cost of the project was reserved for artworks. They were largely constructed of durable materials like stone and metal, designed to withstand vandalism as well as normal wear and tear for 75 years. Six of the original twenty artworks are located at Alewife station: Two additional works at
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#17328476560651320-645: The MBTA, with the Lexington Branch closing in January 1977. By 1922, the Boston Elevated Railway believed that Harvard would be the permanent terminus of the Cambridge–Dorchester line ; the heavy ridership from the north was expected to be handled by extending rapid transit from Lechmere Square . A 1926 report proposed an extension from Lechmere to North Cambridge via the Southern Division and
1380-668: The Southeast Expressway and Southwest Corridor to meet the Inner Belt at the same point.) Organized community opposition to the project began in 1965, when three city planners at the Boston Redevelopment Authority (now the Boston Planning & Development Agency )—Tunney Lee, Fred Salvucci, and Dennis Blackett—founded the Cambridge Committee on the Inner Belt. The group, which later became incorporated as
1440-749: The UPA to mobilize residents across Greater Boston . A new group, the Greater Boston Committee (GBC) on the Transportation Crisis, was founded in 1968 to coordinate the anti-highway movement. The GBC's work culminated in the People Before Highways protest on January 25, 1969, when hundreds of residents flooded the Massachusetts State House, demanding that Governor Francis Sargent (who assumed office just three days prior when Volpe
1500-457: The United States' Interstate Highway System . The 323 auxiliary routes generally fall into three types: spur routes , which connect to or intersect the parent route at one end; bypasses , which connect to the parent route at both ends; and beltways , which form a circle that intersects the parent route at two locations. Some routes connect to the parent route at one end but to another route at
1560-532: The Urban Planning Aid (UPA), published articles in the Cambridge Chronicle criticizing the highway plan and disseminated maps of the route to residents, highlighting the Inner Belt's potentially disastrous effects on Cambridge's urban landscape. With the help of Father McManus, a local priest, the UPA mobilized Cambridge residents against the state's highway plan, and the anti-highway activists won over
1620-410: The alignment of the whole project. Alternatives running via Garden Street or via Porter Square and the Fitchburg mainline were to have a station along the Lexington Branch just north of the Fitchburg mainline. Alternatives using the freight cutoff (via Davis Square or Cotter Square) were to have a station east of Alewife Brook Parkway on the pre-1927 Lexington Branch alignment, or to the south straddling
1680-409: The atrium to the garage levels. A freestanding headhouse connects to the east end of the platform. Elevators connect both ends of the platform to the fare lobbies, making the station fully accessible. The walls and floors of the station are finished with brown Welsh quarry tiles with granite highlights. The Minuteman Bikeway and Fitchburg Cutoff Path meet at the northwest corner of the garage;
1740-578: The bus from serving Alewife directly. The bus stop is connected to Alewife by a short spur of the Cambridge Linear Park. Alewife station is also served by bus routes operated by private carriers: The Charlestown Branch Railroad opened from Charlestown to Somerville in October 1839. It was extended to Fresh Pond in West Cambridge in 1842 for ice harvesting . Under the control of Alvah Crocker ,
1800-579: The cancelation were among the factors eventually leading to Boston's Big Dig highway project, decades later. The Northwest Expressway was to carry Route 2 and Route 3 along a four-lane highway from the northwest (the current outer intersection of US 3 and Route 128 in Burlington) via Cambridge to connect with the Inner Belt in Union Square, Somerville . Instead, the Route ;2 highway
1860-494: The construction of Alewife station, the surrounding area was known as the "industrial triangle"; the only nearby development was the 1971-built Rindge Towers . Major development had been proposed in the triangle by Arthur D. Little in the 1960s, and by a 1970 city planning study. The construction of Alewife station resulted in what would later be termed transit-oriented development , with commercial developments replacing struggling industrial sites. The first developments around
Interstate 695 (Massachusetts) - Misplaced Pages Continue
1920-648: The former Lexington Branch right-of-way. Alewife became a major junction point between trails: wider sidewalks along Alewife Brook Parkway to the south were added in the 1990s (later connecting to the Fresh Pond Parkway path and the Watertown Greenway ), the Alewife Greenway to the north opened in 2012, and the Fitchburg Cutoff Path to the west opened in 2013. The Minuteman quickly became
1980-578: The garage would be built (following a short section of the former Lexington Branch), with a second ramp from the garage under Alewife Brook Parkway (reusing the Fitchburg Cutoff underpass) to the intersection. Environmental review was completed in August 1984. The $ 3.5 million project was approved by the MBTA board in June 1985; construction began that September and was completed about a year later. Prior to
2040-411: The garage, with ramps to the bus platform. The garage is bisected by an elongated atrium, which has red exhaust pipes on one side to ventilate the bus platform. East of the garage, the concourse widens into an atrium covered with a glass pyramid, with faregates and access to the platform on the north side. A third bike cage is located on the south side of the glass pyramid, under escalators connecting
2100-399: The garage. In April 2024, the MBTA indicated plans to study future scenarios for the station – including the feasibility of removing the garage – in a five-year spending plan. The MBTA issued a request for proposals in August 2024 for a private developer to demolish the garage and construct new buildings in its place. This may also include redevelopment of about 20 acres (8.1 ha) on
2160-548: The line was extended from West Cambridge to Fitchburg as the Fitchburg Railroad in 1843–1845. Stops on the line included West Cambridge (Brick Yards) at Sherman Street, and Hills Crossing at Brighton Street just over the Belmont border to the west. The Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad (Lexington Branch) opened north from West Cambridge in 1846; the Watertown Branch opened south from West Cambridge in 1849. In 1870,
2220-458: The main garage entrances were temporarily closed on October 19, 2019. Phased replacement of the garage elevators and the west platform elevator began in mid-2018 and was completed in September 2020. On February 4, 2023, a driver crashed their car into an edge barrier of the upper level of the parking garage, causing a 10,000-pound (4,500 kg) piece of concrete to fall onto the glass ceiling of
2280-462: The newly extended Red Line . An outer belt, I-495 , was completed by 1982 around Greater Boston. With the cancelation of the "Southwest Corridor" route for I-95, and the resultant alternate usage of much of that right-of-way for a significant length of the relocated southwest section of the Orange Line subway's above-ground run, Route 128 between I-95 south and I-95 north was made part of
2340-521: The north side of the Fitchburg Line west of Alewife Brook Parkway, which is occupied by a commuter rail maintenance facility that will be moved to Iron Horse Park in Billerica . As of September 2024 , the MBTA plans to construct an access point near for hi-rail construction vehicles near Alewife from 2026–2028. In 1978, the MBTA and the Cambridge Arts Council began a program entitled Arts on
2400-433: The numbers can repeat from state to state along their route, but they will not repeat within a state. There are three states that have no auxiliary Interstate Highways: Alaska, Arizona, and New Mexico. North Dakota has an auxiliary route, but it is unsigned , and Wyoming's does not meet Interstate Highway standards. Auxiliary Interstates are divided into three types: spur , loop , and bypass routes. The first digit of
2460-687: The other end; some states treat these as spurs while others treat them as bypasses. Like the primary Interstate Highways , auxiliary highways meet Interstate Highway standards (with rare exceptions ). The shorter auxiliary routes branch from primary routes; their numbers are based on the parent route's number. All of the supplement routes for Interstate 95 (I-95) are designated with a three-digit number ending in "95": I-x95. With some exceptions, spur routes are numbered with an odd hundreds digit (such as I-395 ), while bypasses and beltways are numbered with an even hundreds digit (such as I-695 ). Because longer Interstates may have many such supplemental routes,
Interstate 695 (Massachusetts) - Misplaced Pages Continue
2520-440: The parking garage, which would cost $ 30–35 million and add about 1,300 spaces. The structure was originally designed to support two more levels, but whether the condition of the supports and building codes would still allow this expansion was not clear. In August 2018, the MBTA awarded a $ 5.7 million contract for garage repairs, which were needed even in the absence of funding for expansion. Work began in September 2018, and
2580-483: The parkway. The chosen alignment was an all-tunnel route via Porter Square and Davis Square, with the southern station option. Intended primarily as a park-and-ride facility for suburban commuters, Alewife station was built on a former brickyard adjacent to the terminus of the expressway portion of Route 2. Although largely away from residential and commercial areas, the station was intended to be walkable from East Arlington and North Cambridge. The industrial site
2640-422: The standard numbering guidelines exist for a number of reasons. In some cases, original routes were changed, extended, or abandoned, leaving discrepancies in the system. In other cases, it may not be possible to use the proper number because the limited set of available numbers has been exhausted, causing a "non-standard" number to be used. A spur route 's number usually has an odd number for its first digit. It
2700-504: The station for use as layup tracks and overnight storage. A five-story, 2,733-space parking garage is located just west of the station platform, with vehicle entrance and exit at its northwest side. The first floor of the garage includes a 450-foot (140 m)-long enclosed bus platform with bus bays on both sides, as well as two bike cages . Pedestrian entrances to the garage are on the south (Cambridgepark Drive) and west (Steel Place) sides. A below-ground concourse runs east–west under
2760-525: The station on Route 2 to use a congested rotary north of the station. The design and construction of roadway improvements trailed that of the Red Line project, complicated by political controversy between Arlington, Belmont, and Cambridge over traffic concerns. The state announced a short-term plan in May 1984, under which the rotary would be replaced with a signalized intersection. A direct ramp from eastbound Route 2 to
2820-512: The station ultimately cost $ 84 million. In 1989, the station was awarded a Federal Design Achievement Award by the National Endowment for the Arts , which stated that the "design surrounds all the activity with excitement and beauty... The entire structure is full of art..." When the station opened, all road access to the garage was from Alewife Brook Parkway, which forced those driving to
2880-459: The station were primarily office buildings and high-tech research and development facilities that flourished in Massachusetts in the 1980s . Developers were attracted to the Alewife area by the large plots of available land, the subway connection to Cambridge and Boston, and the proximity to Route 2. An additional development surrounding the east headhouse was considered in the mid-1980s, but
2940-561: The surrounding area. The MBTA plans to replace the aging parking garage with new development in the late 2020s. The station features six works of public art built under the Arts on the Line program. Alewife station has one underground island platform serving two tracks. Both tracks are used for boarding and alighting; a scissors crossover east of the station allows arriving and departing trains to switch tracks. A three-track underground yard extends about one-third mile (0.5 km) northwest past
3000-414: The terminus of the extension. Alewife station opened on March 30, 1985, though some peak-hour service did not run to the station until that December. The station has a single underground island platform , with a busway and glass-roofed fare lobby inside the parking garage. Ramps connecting the garage to Route 2 opened in 1986. The station spurred transit-oriented development on formerly industrial land in
3060-509: The three digits usually signifies whether a route is a bypass, spur, or beltway. The last two digits are derived from the main Interstate Highway. For instance, I-115 contains an odd number in the first digit (1), which indicates that this freeway is a spur. The last two digits signify the highway's origin. In this case, the "15" in I-115 shows that it is a supplement to I-15 . Exceptions to
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#17328476560653120-400: The west fare lobby. One passenger suffered minor injuries. The station was temporarily closed for inspection and repairs; shuttle buses operated between Alewife and Davis. The garage reopened on February 8, except for the top level where the crash occurred; the station reopened using only the east headhouse on February 10. The main lobby reopened on March 27, 2023, along with the top floor of
3180-456: Was chosen to minimize disruptive land takings. The station was designed by Ellenzweig Associates. After Davis and Porter , Alewife was among the first MBTA stations made accessible during initial construction, rather than by renovation. Alewife station was named for the adjacent Alewife Brook (a tributary of the Mystic River ) and Alewife Brook Parkway – themselves named for the alewife ,
3240-409: Was confirmed as President Richard Nixon 's secretary of transportation ) cancel the Inner Belt and Southwest Corridor. The project was canceled in 1971 after intense protests organized by community activists , and following Sargent's 1970 moratorium on highway construction inside Route 128. It would have displaced some 7,000 people from their homes, created what opponents at the time called
3300-404: Was intended to connect to the Inner Belt. An industrial park in Somerville, built on the remnants of the Boston and Maine Railroad 's Yard 8, near the intended northern terminus of the highway is built around a street known as "Inner Belt Road". Auxiliary Interstate Highway Auxiliary Interstate Highways (also called three-digit Interstate Highways ) are a subset of highways within
3360-496: Was killed in a tank truck explosion on Harvey Street in North Cambridge. After six years of construction, Alewife was the final station on the extension to open. Revenue service began on March 30, 1985. Because the yard facilities were not complete, only Ashmont trains terminated at Alewife at peak hours ; peak-hour Braintree trains ran only to Davis until December 26. Initially expected to cost $ 78 million to construct,
3420-501: Was never rerouted to the Fitchburg Line right-of-way and alternately now terminates along the right-of-way of the old Cambridge and Concord Turnpike (Route 2). That intersection left the highway terminating at a traffic circle in northwest Cambridge , where it intersected Route 16 . In the 1980s, the rotary was replaced by a traffic light and the highway was connected to the park-and-ride garage at Alewife station on
3480-418: Was rejected by the community because it would have added 2,000 parking spaces. Residential developments were built in the Alewife triangle beginning in 2003. The Alewife Linear Park between Alewife and Davis opened in 1985. The Minuteman Bikeway opened in 1992–93 and was extended a short distance to Alewife in 1998, connecting the northwestern suburbs of Arlington, Lexington, and Bedford to Alewife along
3540-558: Was rerouted over the rebuilt line; the Fitchburg Cutoff (Hills Crossing to Somerville Junction) became freight-only, with North Cambridge and the two other passenger stations on the line closed. Passenger service ended on the Watertown Branch in 1938. Hills Crossing station closed by the mid-1940s, and West Cambridge by the 1960s. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) was formed in 1964 to support suburban rail service. A number of lightly used branch lines were closed by
3600-594: Was subsequently torn down by 1987 and eventually replaced by the Silver Line rapid bus service. Remnants of the Inner Belt were visible for many years on I-93 at what is now the Storrow Drive Connector interchange (exit 18 [old exit 26] southbound) in Somerville (which would have been the northern terminus of I-695) and at the Massachusetts Avenue interchange in Boston (which would have been
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