Storrow Drive
| Storrow Drive James Jackson Storrow Memorial Drive
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| Route of Storrow Drive (red) | |
| Basic data | |
| place | Boston |
| District | Back Bay |
| Created | 1951 |
| Hist. Names | Massachusetts Route C9 |
| Connecting roads |
 Soldiers Field Road (West)  Embankment Road (East)
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| Cross streets |
 Route 2A
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| use | |
| User groups | motorist |
| Technical specifications | |
| Street length | 1.98 mi (3.2 km ) |
The Storrow Drive (officially James Jackson Storrow Memorial Drive ) is a city highway in the Boston District Back Bay in the state of Massachusetts of the United States that the Leverett Circle eastward along the Charles River runs. The street is laid out as a parkway , i. i.e., it is restricted to cars . They are not allowed to use trucks and buses . It was named after James Jackson Storrow and ends at its eastern intersection with theMassachusetts Route 28 , from where it continues as part of Route 28 under the name Embankment Road .
The Storrow Drive is used in particular for quick access to places in the city center. In a westerly direction there is a connection to Massachusetts Route 2A or Massachusetts Avenue via the Harvard Bridge . The Storrow Drive continues at the Boston University over until he attended the Boston University Bridge to Soldiers Field Road , is the starting there the Massachusetts Route 2 continues.
The street is administered by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and is also part of the Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston as part of the Emerald Necklace . Together with Memorial Drive and Cambridge Parkway , Storrow Drive is also part of the Charles River Basin Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places . Until 1989 ran through the Storrow Drive and the US Highway 1 , but which today along the Interstate 93 is performed.
Namesake
The parkway was named after investment banker James J. Storrow , who launched a campaign to establish the Charles River Basin and develop the riverbanks into a public park. However, he never endorsed a parkway running down the river, and his widow publicly opposed it.
Traffic load
The Storrow Drive is often driven too quickly and aggressively, as it is difficult for the police to stop traffic offenders due to the lack of a hard shoulder. In addition, there is a risk of flooding during heavy precipitation, especially in the winter months, when a high amount of precipitation per unit of time or snow and a frozen roadway prevent the water from flowing into the drains. Another problem is the narrow lanes.
Use as a parking area
During the summer night concerts at Hatch Shell , many visitors park their cars in the departures of Storrow Drive . The free concerts and fireworks regularly attract around 200,000 visitors, and many use the free parking on the slopes.
Low underpass height
The Storrow Drive leads only to a slight distance under bridges, but this is not indicated. As a result, every now and then a truck or other larger vehicle will wedge under a bridge, causing a mile-long traffic jam. It has already happened that a truck loaded with scissors collided with a bridge and lost its load, as a result of which more than 30 vehicles following a flat tire, two of them even on all four wheels. Vehicles also regularly get stuck in the tunnel through which the highway runs.
history
Between 1958 and 1971, Storrow Drive was designated as Massachusetts Route C9 .
Early opponents
In previous projects along the Charles River , James Storrow was at the center of attention, particularly in the construction of the Charles River Dam . He put emphasis on landscaping and green spaces and was always against engaging buildings. In the 1930s, additions to the Esplanade could only be carried out because an important part of the expansion project - a highway from Longfellow Bridge to Boston University Bridge - was not realized due to enormous protests. After his widow Helen Storrow supported a group of highway opponents, the project was initially abandoned, but shortly after her death in 1944, a new application for the construction of the highway was brought to the administration. Despite still strong reservations and due to incomprehensible processes in parliament, the law to build the highway and name it after James Storrow was passed in 1949.
Construction phase
Construction work began at the turn of the year 1950/1951. As part of an effort to preserve parkland and green spaces, every square foot of land occupied by the new highway had to be replaced with reclaimed land along the coast. The Storrow Drive was officially on June 15, 1951 during a ceremony by the then Governor Paul A. Dever opened.
List of exits
The exits on Storrow Drive are not numbered. The distances given refer to the connection to Soldiers Field Road .
| distance | aims | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| The road continues as Soldiers Field Road | ||
| 4.1 mi (6.6 km ) | University Road - Boston University , Brookline | Only east exit to Route 2
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| 5 mi (8 km ) | Kenmore Square , Fenway | Old route of US Highway 1
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| 5.1 mi (8.2 km ) |
Route 2A ( Massachusetts Avenue ) - Cambridge
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Western descent only. |
| 6 mi (9.7 km ) |
Route 28 South - Copley Square , Back Bay
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Official east end of Storrow Drive |
| The road continues as Embankment Road / Route 28 | ||
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Ira Gershkoff, Richard Trachtman: The Boston driver's handbook . the almost post big dig edition. 3. Edition. Da Capo Press, Cambridge, MA 2004, ISBN 978-0-306-81326-9 , pp. 27–29 ( online in Google Book Search).
- ↑ Shary Page Berg FASLA: Cultural Landscape Report, The Esplanade, Boston, Massachusetts. (PDF; 2.7 MB) (No longer available online.) The Esplanade Association, April 2007, pp. 30 ff. , Archived from the original on June 25, 2014 ; accessed on September 23, 2012 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Nancy Parsons, Dick Amsterdam: Morsels from the Better Mousetrap . tips, tricks and tales about corporate communications for small businesses. Xlibris, 2000, ISBN 978-0-7388-1673-9 .
- ↑ Melissa M. Werthmann: Truck gets stuck in Storrow Drive tunnel. In: Boston Globe . September 25, 2012, accessed September 27, 2012 .
- ↑ Nancy S. Seasholes: Gaining ground . a history of landmaking in Boston. The MIT Press, Cambridge 2003, ISBN 978-0-262-19494-5 ( online in Google book search).
- ^ Samuel Cutler: Embankment Road approved by House in stormy session. In: Boston Globe . April 29, 1949, accessed September 27, 2012 (English, paid article).
- ↑ Massachusetts General Court Acts of 1949, Chapter 262
- ^ Massachusetts Road Opened . In: The New York Times , June 16, 1951. Retrieved February 22, 2007.
Coordinates: 42 ° 21 '7.7 " N , 71 ° 5' 18.9" W.
