Connect Historic Boston

Neighborhood: Charlestown/Downtown/North End

Description: The City of Boston and the National Parks Service collaborated on a planning process to create a pedestrian and bicycle network to connect historic sites in downtown Boston. In 2013 the City was awarded a $15.5 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Grant, from the United States Department of Transportation, for the design and construction of Connect Historic Boston – Phase 1. The City of Boston Public Works Department is leading a team of City departments and consultant firms to bring four of the concepts developed in the planning process to 100% design and construction:

  1. The Connect Historic Boston Bike Trail – The Bike Trail will be a family friendly bicycle loop around downtown Boston. The TIGER Grant project includes Phase 1 of the trail (Staniford Street, Causeway Street, Commercial Street, and Atlantic Avenue.
  2. Blackstone Block – The Blackstone Block will become a shared street environment with improved accessibility and connectivity between Haymarket and Faneuil Hall.
  3. Constitution Road – Constitution Road will become a welcoming multimodal gateway to the Charlestown Navy Yard. The proposed design will maintain current operations of the street for residents and buses, while improving bicycle and pedestrian access.
  4. Joy Street – Traffic calming and increased walking space on Joy Street will shift the street in favor of pedestrians and lead the way over Beacon Hill by foot.

Project Status: In construction

Estimated Project Cost: $23,000,000

Project Start: Spring 2015

Estimated Project Completion:  2018

Project Design Team:

  • Bill Egan, Project Manager, BPWD
  • Howard/Stein-Hudson, Design Consultant – Bike Trail
  • Fay, Spofford, and Thorndike, Design Consultant – Blackstone Block
  • Nitsch Engineering, Design Consultant – Constitution Road & Joy Street

Project Construction Team:

  • Katie Choe, Project Construction Manager, BPWD
  • P. Gioioso & Sons, Inc, Contractor