BOSTON -- I am generally not not a big fan of cable-stayed bridges, preferring the grandeur of suspension bridges. Sadly, cable-stayed bridges are being built for crossings that used to require suspension bridges. I do make an exception for the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge over the Charles River though. One reason is that Bostonians nicknamed it the Buckner Bridge because cars (ahem, cahs) drive underneath the upside down "Y" like a Mookie Wilson roller in game 6 of the 1986 World Series. Of course, the Red Sox finally won a World Series again and Bill Buckner was forgiven, so I don't know how prominent the "Buckner Bridge" moniker still is these days. Or how often it was ever used for that matter.
As for the actual bridge, the upside down Y's make it more attractive than typical cable-stayed bridge which is just two big columns in the middle of the bridge with yellow covered cables. The crowing achievement of it though is towers forming an obelisk at the top, echoing the Bunker Hill Memorial in nearby Charlestown. It gives the bridge a sense of place within Boston and is even part of Amtrak's beautiful display adverting campaign. The bridge towers seem to come to a sharper point than the Bunker Hill Memorial, I suspect this design was chosen because it is more attractive.
All of this being said though, the Big Dig, which put I-93* and US 1 underground through Boston and brought about the Zakim Bridge was still a debacle that set back urban transportation by a generation with its cost overruns.
[flickr : Photos tagged with bucknerbridge/slideshow]
Check out Steve Anderson's Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge article on bostonroads.com
*It's too bad this bridge isn't part of I-95. Cancellations of other expressways led to I-95 being rerouted outside of Boston onto MA 128 and I-93 being extended through the city along the parts of I-95 that did get built, as well as MA 3 (which should be part of US 3) through South Boston. ©MMIX William F. Yurasko
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