Newly-Refurbished Longfellow Bridge Re-Opens

BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- After years of construction, the refurbished Longfellow Bridge--running from Boston to Cambridge across the Charles River--has been reopened.

All vehicle, pedestrian, bicycle, and MBTA infrastructure was completed and working as of 5 a.m. Thursday.

According to The Boston Globe, MassDOT Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver estimated the cost of  the reconstruction project at over $306 million, exceeding the original budget of $255 million.

There will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the bridge Friday to celebrate--but those WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens spoke to Thursday morning cared more about transportation than ceremonies.

"It's impressive," said one cyclist, who had a big smile on her face as she crossed the bridge. "I was not convinced they were going to be able to reopen it by the end of May. And now that it has, it's nice! I like the bike lane. Protected bike lane is good."

A man who was walking across the bridge to work in a re-done pedestrian lane said the bridge was "awesome."

"They did a good job, it took a little bit of time, but they did a good job, the end result I'm happy with," he said.

Crews still have a bit of work to do on the approaches to the bridge, as well as a few finishing touches.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports


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