Harvard Bridge - Maintenance and Events

Maintenance and Events

In 1898, 3-foot (0.91 m)-wide bicycle lanes were installed next to each curb. In 2011 (113 years later), Boston finally connected to these lanes.

According to a marker near the southeast end of the bridge, Harry Houdini performed one of his "well known escapes" from this bridge on 1 May 1908. Other sources have it as 30 April 1908.

The bridge was declared unsafe in 1909, requiring all of the iron and steel to be replaced. The draw was elevated slightly and the trolley rails were replaced as well.

When the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) took control of the bridge in 1924, they rebuilt much of the bridge superstructure. They replaced the wooden stringers with steel "I" beams, topped wooden deck elements with concrete and brick, and replaced the street car rails. Structural steel hangers replaced wrought iron. The swing span was converted into two 75-foot (23 m) fixed spans the same width as the rest of the bridge. The wooden pier was heavily modified with concrete and stone to make it resemble the other piers, increasing the number of stone piers from 23 to 24.

Heavy traffic at the Mass Ave and Memorial Drive intersection on the Cambridge end of the bridge led to the construction of an underpass in 1931. The underpass eliminated the at-grade intersection.

The bridge was often known as the "Xylophone Bridge" because of the sound its wooden decking made when traffic traveled over it. This decking was replaced in 1949 with 3-inch (76 mm) concrete-filled "I-beam lok" grating topped with a 2.25-inch (57 mm) thick bituminous wearing surface. At this time, all bearings were replaced, and the trolley car tracks were removed, as were granite blocks. The trolley car poles were reused for street lights. Ramps between the bridge and the under-construction Storrow Drive were added.

The 1924 sidewalk slabs were replaced by precast, prestressed slabs in 1962. The fifteen expansion dams were replaced or repaired in 1969.