Central Artery
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.
Central Artery | |
|---|---|
| John F. Fitzgerald Expressway | |
Central Artery highlighted in red | |
| Route information | |
| Maintained by MassDOT | |
| Length | 3.1819 mi (5.1208 km) |
| Existed | 1959–present |
| Major junctions | |
| South end | I-93 / US 1 / Route 3 in Boston |
| 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 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Massachusetts |
| Highway system | |
| |
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). 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.
According to Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation data, 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. 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.