Boston Central
Artery/Tunnel History
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This website contains material useful to people studying the history of the CA/T highway, especially the Charles River crossing part of the project.
During 1998, we operated an interactive website for the purpose of collecting original material from people who were involved in planning the crossing. Some comments and articles contributed by people involved in the crossing design process are available on-line. Other material at this website includes a chronology of planning the crossing, a chronological bibliography of important transportation documents with links to some of these, and images. Hardcopy material pertaining to the crossing is available in the vertical file collection at M.I.T.'s Rotch Library.
An archive of Scheme Z
Scheme Z was the name of the original plan for the bridges that were to carry the new Central Artery highway over the Charles River and connect it with surrounding roads. Many groups and individuals opposed the plan, which became public 1989. In 1991, state officials started a process to develop a new design that would satisfy Scheme Z's critics. For the next few years, many people worked to shape a new crossing plan. When the state selected a new plan, which received approvals in 1994, the last major piece of the CA/T project design was in place. The redesigned crossing is now (1999) under construction. At this website and in the hardcopy collection are materials pertaining to this process of redesigning the crossing.
Who created this website?
The site was a project of two historians of technology, Thomas P. Hughes and Sara E. Wermiel. Prof. Hughes' book chapter on the history of the Central Artery/Tunnel is available at the CA/T documents page. Dr. Wermiel created the website.
For more information about the original purpose of the site, see the methods page.
[ Scheme Z chronology | CA/T documents | Contributed articles | Plans and pictures | Vertical file ]