Mass Ave Bridge Bike Lanes Will Become Permanent: MassDOT

BOSTON, MA — A temporary bike lane across a major bridge linking Boston and Cambridge will soon become permanent.

MassDOT officials said during a board meeting last week that flexible bollards will soon replace traffic cones along the Harvard Bridge, also known as the Mass Ave. bridge. The cones appeared along the bridge one year ago as part of a pilot program, and have effectively improved safety, officials have said.

During an Oct. 19 presentation, Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver shared proposed designs for the new configuration with the MassDOT board. The images show one lane of vehicle travel in each direction across the bridge, plus buffered bike lanes along the shoulders.

The new configuration will also allow new bus-only lanes at either end of the bridge, according to the presentation.

MassDOT is working on finalizing designs this month, and could begin reconfiguring the bridge in November.

The temporary cones along the Mass Ave. bridge have been targeted by vandals multiple times since the pilot program began. In January, MassDOT released videos of two people throwing the cones into the icy Charles River.

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