Tobin Bridge

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Bridge between Boston and Chelsea, Massachusetts

title: "Tobin Bridge" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1950-establishments-in-massachusetts", "bridges-completed-in-1950", "bridges-in-boston", "bridges-in-suffolk-county,-massachusetts", "bridges-of-the-united-states-numbered-highway-system", "cantilever-bridges-in-the-united-states", "chelsea,-massachusetts", "double-decker-bridges", "landmarks-in-charlestown,-boston", "mystic-river", "road-bridges-in-massachusetts", "steel-bridges-in-the-united-states", "toll-bridges-in-massachusetts", "truss-bridges-in-the-united-states", "u.s.-route-1"] description: "Bridge between Boston and Chelsea, Massachusetts" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobin_Bridge" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Bridge between Boston and Chelsea, Massachusetts ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox bridge"]

Field	Value
bridge_name	Tobin Bridge
image	Tobin bridge 2009f.JPG
caption	The Tobin Bridge viewed from East Boston in 2009
image_size	300px
official_name	Maurice J. Tobin Memorial Bridge
carries	6 lanes (3 upper, 3 lower) of
crosses	Mystic River
locale	Charlestown–Chelsea, Massachusetts
maint	MassDOT
design	Three-span double-deck cantilevered truss
mainspan	800 ft
length	11906 ft
width	36 ft
height	254 ft
below	135 ft
material	steel
begin	April 12, 1948
open	February 27, 1950
toll	$2.50/$3.00 (E-ZPass/pay-by-plate; 2023)
coordinates
::

The Maurice J. Tobin Memorial Bridge (formerly the Mystic River Bridge) is a cantilever truss bridge that spans more than 2 mi from Boston to Chelsea over the Mystic River in Massachusetts, United States. It is operated by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and carries U.S. Route 1. It was built between 1948 and 1950 and opened to traffic on February 2, 1950, replacing the former Chelsea Bridge. The 36 feet roadway has three lanes of traffic on each of the two levels with northbound traffic on the lower level and southbound traffic on the upper level.

Description

The bridge is a three-span cantilevered truss bridge at 1,525 ft in total length.{{cite web |url=http://www.massport.com/bridges/about.asp |title=The Tobin Memorial Bridge |publisher=Massport.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990828111916/http://www.massport.com/bridges/about.asp |archive-date=August 28, 1999 |access-date=January 10, 2012}} The center span is longest at 800 ft and the maximum truss height is 115 ft. There are 36 approach spans to the north and 32 to the south. The roadway is seven lanes wide between the shortest (439 ft) span and the center – the former location of the toll plaza.

History

Chelsea Bridge

Early transport between Boston and Winnisimmet (later Chelsea) was by the Winnisimmet Ferry. In 1803, the Salem Turnpike was extended across the Mystic River to Charlestown, where the Charles River Bridge then connected to downtown Boston. The new Mystic River bridge (Chelsea Bridge) had two draw spans and cost $53,000 () to construct. The Boston and Chelsea Railroad opened a single horsecar track over the bridge on November 20, 1858. The Boston portion of the bridge was rebuilt in 1877, with a new iron draw span, while the Chelsea portion was also repaired. The Lynn and Boston Railroad (successor to the Boston and Chelsea Railroad) ran a pair of horsecar tracks across the bridge.

In 1880, Chelsea paid Boston $25,000 () to permanently maintain the portion of the bridge within Chelsea, including the north draw. The Boston portion was damaged by a fire on September 7, 1887. Electric streetcars replaced the horsecars on the bridge in the early 1890s, with all-electric service effective March 13, 1893.

Charlestown viaduct

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Chelsea_Bridge_viaduct_drawing,_August_1894.png" caption="An 1894 drawing of the viaduct"] ::

The Boston and Lowell Railroad (B&L) purchased the Mystic River Railroad, an unbuilt paper railroad, in 1871. It constructed the line from Milk Row station around Charlestown to a new freight terminal built on filled land in the Mystic River between the two channels. After a legal battle with the Lynn and Boston Railroad about the right to cross its tracks, the B&L extended the branch across the Mystic Bridge, allowing ships to dock without passing through any bridges. As the B&L and its successor Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) expanded Mystic Wharf in the 1880s, replacing the middle section of the bridge with a roadway on filled land, the grade crossings became a significant inconvenience and hazard to bridge traffic.

The railroad's construction of transatlantic port facilities, including a grain elevator and coal depot, along with additional crossings of the bridge road brought the issue to a head in 1892. That June, the state legislature passed an act authorizing Chelsea to pursue elimination of the grade crossings. The B&M was to pay 65% of the cost, the Lynn and Boston Railroad 5%, and the state 30% (of which part would be in turn paid by Boston and Chelsea). Negotiations between the B&M, the Lynn and Boston, and the cities of Boston and Chelsea took place in 1893 over plans to raise the street onto a viaduct over the rail yard. The B&M was willing to build a viaduct with a wooden roadway 40 feet wide, but the other parties insisted on a 50 feet-wide roadway with a granite deck.

A temporary south span and roadway opened on May 1, 1894, allowing construction of the viaduct to begin. This was closed to all but streetcar traffic on May 1, 1895. Streetcars began using the new viaduct on August 4, 1895, and it opened to general traffic on December 29. The viaduct was 2777 feet long and raised about 20 feet above the old grade, with a 45 feet roadway and 8 feet sidewalk. As part of the project, the north draw span was replaced by a retractile drawbridge and widened by 8-10 feet to just under 45 feet.

Draw span replacements

As the New England Gas and Coke Company prepared to open its new plant upstream, a further widening of the north draw became necessary to accommodate Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation ships serving the plant. Henry Melville Whitney offered to pay $40,000 on behalf of the company to secure a width of 75 feet; however, the city instead chose a 60 feet width. Preliminary work began in late 1899. A temporary bridge was funded by the gas company ($14,000) and the Lynn and Boston ($7,000). A contract for $21,471 for the construction of the new draw span was issued on February 26, 1900. The new span opened on September 25, 1900, with a total cost around $75,000 ()

Another replacement of the north draw span began in early 1912, with the temporary bridge completed that August. The new steel truss swing span – claimed to be the largest bridge span in New England – opened on May 28, 1913. The 1400 short ton span rotated on 64 wheels on a 44 feet diameter circular rail. It was 363 feet long and 60 feet wide, and could rotate to provide two 125 feet-wide channels large enough for oceangoing ships. As part of the $425,000 project (), the wooden pile approaches were raised to eliminate a slope from the Charlestown viaduct.

The city planned to replace the south draw span shortly afterwards at a nearly equal cost. On March 14, 1914, the 230 short ton temporary span from the north draw was moved in one piece – using the tide to lift the span on lighters – to serve as the new temporary south draw. The temporary span, with sharp reverse curves at both ends, remained in use longer than planned. A $521,830 contract for the permanent span () was issued on April 26, 1922, and construction began on May 2. The new bridge opened on April 21, 1924. It was 365 feet long, with a four-leaf bascule draw 119 feet long and 61 feet wide, widening the channel to 75 feet.

By early 1934, the north section of Chelsea Bridge was in need of repairs. On June 27, 1934, traffic on the north draw was restricted to vehicles under 6 short ton except for streetcars, using only one lane in each direction. The century-old drawtenders' house nearly collapsed into the river on July 23, 1934, as piles supporting it sank into the riverbed. A $292,222 contract () for repairs to the north span was issued on October 26, 1934. The bridge closed to all traffic effective January 14, 1935. Initial plans had called for streetcar service by the Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway (successor to the Lynn and Boston) to be maintained during construction. The bridge reopened on December 23, 1935, without streetcar tracks; the Eastern Mass continued its bus operations. The Boston Elevated Railway began Chelsea Square– bus service over the bridge on July 2, 1936.

Construction and financing

The new bridge was originally operated by the Mystic River Bridge Authority. The bridge, according to the statute enacted May 23, 1946, would be turned over to the Massachusetts Department of Public Works once the $27 million in bonds used to finance the bridge's construction was retired. The bridge would then become part of the state highway system to be maintained and operated by the department free of tolls.

Construction of the bridge displaced about 250 families form the primarily Jewish neighborhood of Chelsea. The bridge effectively split the community into two smaller sections, accelerating the decline of the overall Jewish community of Chelsea and its migration to Brookline and Newton.

Operation of the bridge was turned over to the new Massachusetts Port Authority in 1956.

The Chelsea Bridge originally remained intact; the southern section remained open as truck access to Mystic Wharf, while the northern section was closed to traffic but still carried a water main across the Mystic River. State funding for a replacement water tunnel was approved in August 1950. On January 28, 1951, six people in a wedding party died when they drove onto the Charlestown end of the closed bridge and fell into the river at the open north draw. The north draw and the north section of the viaduct were removed in 1954. A new street, Terminal Street, opened on August 21, 1956, to serve the Mystic Wharf; the old south draw was closed at that time and soon removed. A new fixed bridge was built near the alignment of the former south draw in 1982 as part of a project to remove trucks from neighborhood streets in Charlestown. It provides only 12 feet clearance above the water, as the only vessels using the Little Mystic Channel were recreational boats using a 1970s-built boat ramp.

Later events

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Boston_Tobin_Brg_NNW_von_Boojum_Rock_9521_20190430.jpg" caption="Tobin Bridge from Boojum Rock, [[Malden, Massachusetts]], 2019"] ::

In 1967, the Mystic River Bridge was renamed in honor of Maurice J. Tobin, former Boston mayor and Massachusetts governor. Construction of the bridge began during his term as governor (1945–1947). On May 2, 1983, one-way tolling was implemented on the Tobin Bridge and in the Sumner and Callahan tunnels in an attempt to reduce traffic jams. The northbound toll plaza was removed, while the southbound toll doubled to 50 cents.

The bridge was transferred from Massport to the new Massachusetts Department of Transportation effective January 1, 2010. The southbound toll plaza closed on July 21, 2014, and was later removed, in favor of all-electronic open road tolling. Both E-ZPass and "pay-by-mail" (using license plate number recognition) were accepted. This began a 2½ year process by MassDOT which converted all of the toll roads and bridges throughout the Commonwealth to automatic open road tolling. In 2016, the $2.50 southbound toll was replaced with $1.25 tolls in both directions, with a 30-cent surcharge for pay-by-mail.

In September 2017, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation announced a three-year $41.6 million project to restore the bridge deck, repair steel, and paint a portion of the bridge. The work ran April through November in 2018, 2019, and 2020.

Incidents

In 1973, a gravel truck traveling over the lower deck crashed into a support, collapsing the upper deck onto the truck and killing the driver. Later that year, the bridge reopened after more than two months of repair. On January 4, 1990, racial hoaxer and double murderer Charles Stuart committed suicide by jumping from the bridge. Suicides and attempted suicides have been an issue for authorities in general as the design and weight of the bridge makes it impossible to add suicide prevention devices. MassDOT employees are thus trained to monitor security cameras and watch for any vehicles that stop on the bridge.

References

{{Structurae
Abel, David. (October 23, 2007). "Work Never Stops on Tobin Bridge: Costs Rising as Crews Try to Maintain Old Structure". The Boston Globe.
Bartlett, Josiah. (1814). "An historical sketch of Charlestown, in the county of Middlesex, and commonwealth of Massachusetts". Massachusetts Historical Society.
Shurtleff, Nathaniel Bradstreet. (1890). "A topographical and historical description of Boston". Boston City Council.
(December 21, 1877). "Public Opening of the Chelsea Bridge". Boston Globe.
(1880). "Acts and Resolves Passed by the General Court in the Year 1880". Massachusetts General Court.
{{cite court. link. (1915)
(September 9, 1887). "The City Council". Boston Globe.
(March 14, 1893). "Chelsea". Boston Globe.
{{Humphrey Bus Report
(1867). "Report of the Directors of the Boston and Lowell Railroad Corporation for the Year 1871". Boston and Lowell Railroad.
(August 5, 1872). "Railroad Crossings". The Boston Globe.
(January 6, 1874). "The Courts". The Boston Globe.
(December 31, 1882). "On Chelsea Bridge". The Boston Daily Globe.
(December 2, 1892). "Chelsea's Aldermen Scored". The Boston Globe.
(1892). "Acts and Resolves Passed by the General Court in the Year 1892". Massachusetts General Court.
(January 31, 1893). "Chelsea Bridge Hearing". The Boston Globe.
(August 27, 1894). "Viaduct to carry Chelsea traffic". The Boston Globe.
(December 30, 1895). "Immense Relief". The Boston Globe.
(May 18, 1899). "Increases Offer to $40,000". Boston Globe.
(June 10, 1899). "60-foot Draw". Boston Globe.
(October 25, 1899). "New Draw in Chelsea Bridge". Boston Globe.
(February 26, 1900). "Lee Must Go". Boston Globe.
(September 25, 1900). "Chelsea Drawbridge Opened". Boston Globe.
(February 24, 1912). "Rendle Gets Contract". Boston Globe.
(July 18, 1912). "Chelsea". Boston Globe.
(May 13, 1912). "Two Bridges to Cost More Than $500,000". Boston Globe.
(May 28, 1913). "Chelsea North Bridge". Boston Globe.
(March 17, 1913). "Huge Draw Span of Chelsea Bridge North". Boston Globe.
(July 16, 1913). "Chelsea Bridge Bids". Boston Globe.
(March 14, 1914). "Use Tide to Lift Draw". Boston Globe.
(March 15, 1914). "Notable Feat in Bridge Building". Boston Globe.
(October 27, 1921). "Curley Takes Fight Into Murphy's Ward". Boston Globe.
(April 22, 1924). "New Chelsea Bridge Open to Traffic". Boston Globe.
(April 27, 1922). "Contract for Chelsea Bridge Draw Awarded". Boston Globe.
(September 12, 1923). "New South Draw on Chelsea Bridge Nearing Completion". Boston Globe.
Davenport, Kelly Ann. (1999). "The Tobin Bridge : its history and politics".
(June 26, 1934). "City of Boston". Boston Globe.
(July 23, 1934). "Chelsea Bridge Drawhouse Tips as Supporting Piles Give Way". Boston Globe.
(October 27, 1934). "North Chelsea Bridge Contract is Awarded". Boston Globe.
(January 11, 1935). "Tunnel Tolls Cut on Monday". Boston Globe.
(January 12, 1935). "Cut in Tube Tolls Approved by State". Boston Globe.
(1997). "Tremont Street Subway: A Century of Public Service". Boston Street Railway Association.
(December 23, 1935). "Chelsea Bridge Will Be Reopened Today". Boston Globe.
(1946). "House Bill 1979: An Act Providing For The Construction, Maintenance, Repair And Operation Of A High Level Toll Bridge Between The Cities Of Boston And Chelsea Over The Mystic River And The Tracks Of The Boston And Maine Railroad, Providing For The Creation Of The Mystic River Bridge Authority And Defining Its Powers And Duties And Providing For The Financing Of Said Project". Massachusetts General Court.
Hirsch-Rechter, Noah. (2025-10-30). "How a curator and a rabbi joined forces to keep a piece of Boston's Jewish history alive".
(1956). "Acts and resolves passed by the General Court". Massachusetts General Court.
(April 17, 1950). "M. D. C. Asks Bridge Authority Pay for New Water Tunnel". Boston Globe.
(August 20, 1950). "How State Will Expend $394,000,000". Boston Globe.
(August 10, 1950). "Dever Signs State Market Authority Bill". Boston Globe.
(January 30, 1951). "Inquiry Is Expected in Drawbridge Deaths". Boston Globe.
(February 1, 1951). "Mystic Pier Highway Asked to Replace "Death" Viaduct". Boston Globe.
(August 8, 1954). "Demolishing Chelsea Viaduct Bridge". Boston Globe.
(August 22, 1956). "Terminal St. Opened; City Abandons Chelsea South Draw". Boston Globe.
(June 17, 1977). "Draft Negative Declaration: Section 4(f) Statement". Federal Highway Administration.
"Bridges Web Application". Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
(August 19, 1995). "Final Environmental Impact Report (EOEA File Number 8695) and Final Environmental Impact Statement". United States Army Corps of Engineers.
Pillsbury, Fred. (May 1, 1983). "One-way toll experiment starts in Hub tomorrow". The Boston Globe.
Massachusetts Port Authority. (April 28, 1983). "One-way Tolls. [advertisement]". The Daily Item.
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[http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/seslaw09/sl090025.htm Chapter 25 of the Acts of 2009.] {{Webarchive. link. (October 7, 2012 Section 144. Section 156(b) reallocates bridge tolls from Massport to MassDOT effective July 1, 2010.)
Creamer, Alyssa. (July 18, 2014). "No Cash Allowed: Tobin Bridge Tolls Go All-Electronic Monday". [[WBUR-FM]].
DeCosta-Klipa, Nik. (June 6, 2016). "Tobin Bridge to begin charging drivers tolls in both directions, but at an adjusted price". Boston Globe.
Young, Colin A.. (September 12, 2017). "Major Work On Tobin Bridge Is Set To Start In 2018". State House News Service.
"The (Mystic) Tobin Bridge". Boston Globe.
Alysis Richardson. (September 7, 2009). "Pair Who Jumped off Tobin Bridge Expected to Survive". Boston Herald.
(February 21, 2014). "Man Dead after Jumping from Tobin Bridge". Charlestown Bridge.

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