The Long Island Bridge, sometimes referred to as the Long Island Viaduct, was a bridge in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, that connected

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

to Moon Island. Both islands are located in

Boston Harbor Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeastern United States. History Since ...

and are connected to the mainland via a causeway from Moon Island to

Squantum Squantum is a neighborhood of Quincy, Massachusetts, connected to the mainland by a causeway that crosses over a wetland area of the bay. Often thought of as a peninsula, Squantum proper is technically a barrier island as it is surrounded on all fou ...

, a neighborhood of

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Greater Boston, Metropolitan Boston as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 1 ...

History

Constructed at a cost of $2,000,000, the bridge was opened on August 4, 1951. Before the bridge was opened, Long Island was accessible only by the ferry ''James M. Curley''. The bridge was built to provide better access to Long Island Hospital, a public facility serving 1,200 chronically ill patients. After the hospital's closure, the bridge provided access to other city facilities on the island, including a homeless shelter, programs for patients with substance abuse problems, and a fire station. A –Long Island bus service over the bridge was operated by the

Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway The Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway (Eastern Mass) was a streetcar and later bus company in eastern Massachusetts, serving northern and southern suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts. Its precursor company was the Bay State Street Railway, which ...

until 1972, then by the

MBTA The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...

until 1976. The MBTA resumed service with route 276 Long Island Hospital–

Boston City Hospital The Boston City Hospital (1864–1996), in Boston, Massachusetts, was a public hospital, located in the South End. It was "intended for the use and comfort of poor patients, to whom medical care will be provided at the expense of the city, and . ...

in 1983, with route 275 added in 1994. After a weight restriction was placed on the bridge in 2007, the two routes terminated at the Fire Academy on Moon Island, with a single route 274 bus shuttling over the bridge.

Closure

Long Island Bridge Supports piers, August 2017

In October 2014, all access to Long Island was cut off for the indefinite future since the then Mayor of Boston,

Marty Walsh Martin Joseph Walsh (born April 10, 1967) is an American politician and former union official. He has been the 29th United States Secretary of Labor since March 23, 2021. A Democrat, he previously served as the 54th mayor of Boston from 2014, ...

, took the warning of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation about the condition of the Long Island Bridge being unsafe. All those living on Long Island and being serviced by recovery programs or as guests in the homeless shelter were no longer able to go there or use it for services. They were abruptly relocated elsewhere on an emergency basis. In January 2015, demolition of the bridge began with the central span section being removed and ferried away in February.McMahon, Shannon (2015-01-05)
"Boston Begins Long Island Bridge Demolition - Boston.com"
''Boston.com.'' 2015-01-05.Finucane, Martin. (2015-02-25)

''The Boston Globe.'' Retrieved 2018-02-25. In a series of controlled demolitions, the remainder of the bridge was destroyed in March and April. By 2018, the city had committed $92 million to replace the bridge, but Quincy objected to the planned replacement. In July 2022, the

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the court of last resort, highest court in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although the claim is disputed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the SJC claims the di ...

ruled that the Quincy Conservation Commission, which had rejected Boston's plans for the new bridge, did not have jurisdiction to overrule the

Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection is an agency in the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, responsible for protecting the environment in the state. Its areas of respo ...

approval of the plan.

References

External links

{{commons category-inline Bridges in Boston Boston Harbor Viaducts in the United States Steel bridges in the United States Warren truss bridges in the United States