Central Artery

Central Artery
John F. Fitzgerald Expressway
Map
Central Artery highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MassDOT
Length3.1819 mi[1] (5.1208 km)
Existed1959–present
Major junctions
South end I-93 / US 1 / Route 3 in Boston
Major intersections I-90 (Mass Pike) in Boston
Route 3 / Route 28 in Boston
North end I-93 / US 1 at the Zakim Bridge in Charlestown
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMassachusetts
Highway system

The Central Artery (officially the John F. Fitzgerald Expressway) is a section of freeway in downtown Boston, Massachusetts; it is designated as Interstate 93, US 1 and Route 3.

The original Artery, constructed in the 1950s, was named after John F. Fitzgerald; it was partly elevated and partly tunneled. Its reputation for congestion inspired the local nicknames "The Distressway," "the largest parking lot in the world", and "the other Green Monster" (the paint of the highway girders shared the same color as the left field wall at Fenway Park).[2] The Artery was significantly rerouted during a 10-year period from the mid-1990s through the early 2000s as part of the Central Artery/Tunnel Project (the "Big Dig"). The present-day Artery is almost entirely directed through the newly constructed O'Neill Tunnel, while the original Artery was demolished and replaced with the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, named after the daughter of John F. Fitzgerald and the mother of John F. Kennedy.

The Central Artery runs from the Massachusetts Avenue Connector just beyond Andrew Square in South Boston, north to the split with U.S. Route 1 in Charlestown.[3] Along with the harbor tunnels and the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90) from Route 128 to East Boston, it is part of the Metropolitan Highway System.

  1. ^ Office of Transportation Planning Roads (June 2008). "MassGIS". Executive Office of Transportation.
  2. ^ "Boston's Big Dig finally opens to public". NBC News. Associated Press. December 20, 2003. Retrieved November 13, 2008.
  3. ^ Office of Transportation Planning (2007). "Road Inventory". Executive Office of Transportation. Archived from the original on September 27, 2006.