page_title: Boston University Bridge
section_title: Construction
hierarchical_section_title: Boston University Bridge / Construction
caption_attribution_description: This 1927 plaque states that the Boston University Bridge was built by the Phoenix Bridge Company
context_page_description: The Boston University Bridge, originally the Cottage Farm Bridge and commonly referred to as the BU Bridge, is a steel truss through arch bridge with a suspended deck carrying Route 2 over the Charles River, connecting the Boston University campus to Cambridge, Massachusetts. According to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials route log, the bridge also carries U.S. Route 3 across the river to its southern terminus at U.S. Route 20. However, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation does not consider the bridge to be a part of US 3; it continues the route along Memorial Drive in Cambridge until it meets Route 2A at the end of the Harvard Bridge.
  In 1949 it was renamed for Boston University, which lies at the southern end of the bridge, after a group of BU students went to the State House to propose a name change. State Senator John E. Powers sponsored the legislation and in May 1949 it passed with a unanimous vote. Contrary to popular belief, the bridge, with the Grand Junction Railroad Bridge directly underneath it, is not the only place in the world where a boat can sail under a train driving under a car driving under an airplane.
context_section_description: The Boston University Bridge was designed by Andrew Canzanelli and built by The Phoenix Bridge Company in 1927, replacing an 1850s drawbridge known as the Brookline Bridge.  Canzanelli also designed the Weeks footbridge and the first shell constructed on the Esplanade.
  The bridge crosses diagonally over an older, now single-tracked railroad-only bridge carrying the Grand Junction Line. This bridge, formerly owned by CSX Transportation, was purchased by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for the MBTA in 2010. The long-postponed Urban Ring mass transit project is expected to include a bridge at or near this location, to carry the planned route across the Charles River.
  During the period of planning for the Inner Belt, the BU Bridge represented the planned crossing point of the highway from Boston to Cambridge. Several plans were discussed for the area; had the expressway been built over the river, the bridge would have been demolished and replaced with a high-level highway overpass, while if the road had been built as a tunnel, the bridge would have been left standing as a crossing for surface route traffic.
caption: 1927 plaque indicating that it was built by the Phoenix Bridge Company
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon PowerShot S110", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "180", "Image YResolution": "180", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2018:06:18 18:18:32", "Image Artist": "", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "", "Image ExifOffset": "266", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 3, 0, 0]", "Image GPSInfo": "4994", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "180", "Thumbnail YResolution": "180", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "5620", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4587", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/200", "EXIF FNumber": "4", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "125", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Standard Output Sensitivity and Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2018:06:18 18:18:32", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2018:06:18 18:18:32", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "3", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "245/32", "EXIF ApertureValue": "4", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "2", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "26/5", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4000", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2664", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "Interoperability RelatedImageWidth": "4000", "Interoperability RelatedImageLength": "2664", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "4916", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "4000000/293", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "150000/11", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF CameraOwnerName": ""}