Sullivan Square is a traffic circle located at the north end of the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is named after James Sullivan, an early 19th-century Governor of Massachusetts. The MBTA Orange Line station of the same name is located just west of the square.
Prior to the 19th century, Mishawum (later Charlestown) was only connected to the mainland (now Somerville) by an isthmus called "the neck". Roads to Everett (previously a ferry), Medford, and Cambridge and Somerville fanned out from the Charlestown Neck. An extension of the Middlesex Canal from Medford to a millpond at the neck was authorized in 1795 and completed in 1803, with the canal running through where the traffic circle now stands. The junction was eventually named Sullivan Square after James Sullivan, an early 19th-century Governor of Massachusetts who was among the organizers of the canal. [1]
The Boston and Lowell Railroad opened in 1835, followed by the Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) in 1844. The circumferential Grand Junction Railroad was added in 1849, though it did not have passenger service until the Eastern Railroad used it as Boston access for its main line and Saugus Branch beginning in 1855. The B&M's East Somerville station and the Eastern's Somerville station were located along Cambridge Street just west of Sullivan Square. The presence of the railroad station lead to residential development west of Sullivan Square in East Somerville. Owing to competition from the railroads; canal traffic declined rapidly and it closed in 1853.
The Millers River and surrounding wetlands were filled primarily in the 1870s and 1880s for railroad yards, though Sullivan Square remained a transportation hub. Horsecar service between Somerville and Charlestown began in 1858, supplanted by electric streetcars around 1890. The Boston Elevated Railway (BERy) opened its Main Line Elevated in 1901, with a grand enclosed terminus over Sullivan Square at the north end of the Charlestown Elevated section.
In February 1950, the city began construction on a highway project intended to relieve congestion in the square. [2] The $5 million project replaced the road junction with a large traffic circle; an underpass from Alford Street to Rutherford Street and an overpass from Broadway and Mystic Avenue to Rutherford Street were constructed. [3] A cave-in occurred in November 1950 during underpass construction, and a section of the under-construction overpass collapsed in May 1952. [4] [5] The work was completed in 1953. [6]
Deferred maintenance, salt air corrosion, and complaints about noise led to the downfall of the Elevated (by then the MBTA Orange Line). In 1975, the first phase of the Haymarket North Extension relocated the Orange Line alongside the railroad tracks on the west side of the square; the elevated station was soon demolished. Interstate 93 was simultaneously constructed overhead. In 2002, the overpass was removed due to its deteriorated condition. [7]
The construction of Encore Boston Harbor included $11 million of short-term improvements to the rotary and surrounding roads, which were constructed in 2018–19. [8] A longer-term plan which eliminates the rotary entirely and establishes a local street grid is planned for 2021–2025, with $25 million from the casino and about $150 million from the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization. [9]
The Orange Line is a rapid transit line operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) as part of the MBTA subway system. The line runs south on the surface from Oak Grove station in Malden, Massachusetts through Malden and Medford, paralleling the Haverhill Line, then crosses the Mystic River on a bridge into Somerville, then into Charlestown. It passes under the Charles River and runs through Downtown Boston in the Washington Street Tunnel. The line returns to the surface in the South End, then follows the Southwest Corridor southwest in a cut through Roxbury and Jamaica Plain to Forest Hills station.
Davis station is an underground Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Red Line rapid transit station located at Davis Square in Somerville, Massachusetts. The accessible station has a single island platform for the Red Line, as well as a dedicated busway on the surface. It opened in 1984 as part of the Red Line Northwest Extension project.
Wellington station is a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Orange Line rapid transit station in Medford, Massachusetts, near the border of Everett. It is located on the Revere Beach Parkway, slightly east of its intersection with Route 28. Wellington functions as a park and ride with more than 1,300 spaces, and a bus hub with eight routes terminating at the station. The Station Landing development, connected to the station by an overhead walkway, includes residential and retail buildings and additional parking. Wellington Carhouse, the primary repair and maintenance facility for the Orange Line, is located adjacent to the station.
Science Park station is an elevated light rail station on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The station is located at the Boston end of the Charles River Dam Bridge at Leverett Circle. It is at the southeast end of the Lechmere Viaduct, which carries the Green Line over the Charles River. The station is named for the nearby Boston Museum of Science. With 873 daily boardings by a FY 2019 count, Science Park is the least-used fare-controlled station on the Green Line, and the second-lowest on the MBTA subway system after Suffolk Downs.
Lechmere station is a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line light rail station in Lechmere Square in East Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is located on the east side of Monsignor O'Brien Highway near First Street, adjacent to the NorthPoint development. The accessible elevated station has a single island platform, with headhouses at both ends. It opened on March 21, 2022, as part of the Green Line Extension (GLX). Lechmere station is served by Green Line D branch and E branch service.
The Atlantic Avenue Elevated was an elevated railway around the east side of Downtown Boston, Massachusetts, providing a second route for the Boston Elevated Railway's Main Line Elevated around the Washington Street tunnel. It was in use from 1901 to 1938, when it was closed due to low ridership, later being demolished.
Sullivan Square station is a rapid transit station on the MBTA subway Orange Line, located adjacent to Sullivan Square in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is a major transfer point for MBTA bus service, with 10 routes using a two-level busway. The station has two island platforms serving the two active Orange Line tracks plus an unused third track. The Haverhill Line and Newburyport/Rockport Line pass through the station on separate tracks but do not stop.
The Fitchburg Railroad is a former railroad company, which built a railroad line across northern Massachusetts, United States, leading to and through the Hoosac Tunnel. The Fitchburg was leased to the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1900. The main line from Boston to Fitchburg is now operated as the MBTA Fitchburg Line; Pan Am Railways runs freight service on some other portions.
Community College station is a rapid transit station on the MBTA Orange Line in Boston, Massachusetts. It is located in the Charlestown neighborhood off Austin Street near New Rutherford Avenue (MA-99), under the double-decked elevated structure carrying Interstate 93 to the Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge. The station is named for the adjacent Bunker Hill Community College. The station opened in April 1975, replacing the City Square and Thompson Square stations of the Charlestown Elevated. It was made accessible around 2005.
The Charlestown Elevated was a segment of the MBTA Orange Line rapid transit line that ran from the Canal Street Incline in downtown Boston, Massachusetts through Charlestown to a terminal in Everett, Massachusetts. It opened in June 1901 and was replaced by the Haymarket North Extension in April 1975.
The Haymarket North Extension is a section of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's rapid transit Orange Line which currently constitutes the northern section of the line. It runs from North Station through an underground crossing of the Charles River, then along the Haverhill Line right-of-way to Oak Grove station in Malden, Massachusetts. Built to replace the Charlestown Elevated and originally intended to be extended as far as Reading, it opened in stages between 1975 and 1977.
The Green Line Extension (GLX) was a construction project to extend the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line light rail system northwest into Somerville and Medford, two inner suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts. The project opened in two phases in 2022 at a total cost of $2.28 billion. Total ridership on the 4.3-mile (6.9 km) extension is estimated to reach 45,000 one-way trips per day in 2030.
Medford/Tufts station is a light rail station on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line located off Boston Avenue near College Avenue in Medford, Massachusetts, adjacent to Tufts University. The accessible station has a single island platform serving the two tracks of the Medford Branch. It opened on December 12, 2022, as part of the Green Line Extension (GLX), which added two northern branches to the Green Line, and is the northern terminus of the E branch.
Mystic Valley Parkway station is a proposed light rail station on the MBTA Green Line in Somerville, Massachusetts; it would be built as part of a future third phase of the Green Line Extension (GLX). Route 16 would consist of one island platform, which would serve the E branch's two tracks.
Ball Square station is a light rail station on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line located at Ball Square in Somerville and Medford, Massachusetts. The accessible station has a single island platform serving the two tracks of the Medford Branch. It opened on December 12, 2022, as part of the Green Line Extension (GLX), which added two northern branches to the Green Line, and is served by the E branch.
Magoun Square station is a light rail station on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line located at Lowell Street south of Magoun Square in Somerville, Massachusetts. The accessible station has a single island platform serving the two tracks of the Medford Branch. It opened on December 12, 2022, as part of the Green Line Extension (GLX), which added two northern branches to the Green Line, and is served by the E branch.
Gilman Square station is a light rail station on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line located at Gilman Square in Somerville, Massachusetts. The accessible station has a single island platform serving the two tracks of the Medford Branch. It opened on December 12, 2022, as part of the Green Line Extension (GLX), which added two northern branches to the Green Line, and is served by the E branch.
East Somerville station is a light rail station on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line located in southeastern Somerville, Massachusetts. The accessible station has a single island platform serving the two tracks of the Medford Branch. It opened on December 12, 2022, as part of the Green Line Extension (GLX), which added two northern branches to the Green Line, and is served by the E branch.
Union Square station is a light rail station on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line located in the Union Square neighborhood of southeastern Somerville, Massachusetts. The accessible terminal station has a single island platform serving the two tracks of the Union Square Branch, which parallels the Fitchburg Line. It opened on March 21, 2022, as part of the Green Line Extension (GLX), which added two northern branches to the Green Line.
North Station is an underground MBTA subway station in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. Served by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line and Orange Line, it is connected to the surface terminal of the same name used by MBTA Commuter Rail and Amtrak. The station is fully accessible.
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