Memorial Drive (Cambridge)
Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Memorial Drive, colloquially referred to as Mem Drive, is a 3.9-mile (6.3 km) parkway along the north bank of the Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States.
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|---|---|
| Charles River Road | |
 | |
| Maintained by | Massachusetts DCR |
| Length | 3.9 mi (6.3 km)[1][2][3] |
| Coordinates | 42°21′47″N 71°06′58″W |
| West end |   US 3 / Route 2 / Greenough Boulevard in Cambridge |
| Major junctions | Route 2 in Cambridge Route 2A in Cambridge |
| East end |  Route 3 / Main Street in Cambridge |
| Construction | |
| Inauguration | 1923 |
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The parkway runs parallel to two major Boston parkways, Soldiers Field Road and Storrow Drive, which lie on the south bank of the river. The western terminus is in West Cambridge at Greenough Boulevard and Gerry's Landing Road, which connects it to Fresh Pond Parkway. The eastern terminus is at Main Street and the Longfellow Bridge near Kendall Square. Memorial Drive is designated as U.S. Route 3 for most of its length, except the easternmost 0.7 miles (1.1 km) which are designated as Massachusetts Route 3 (US 3 and Route 3 connect end-to-end and are treated as one continuous route by the state). Route 2 is cosigned with US 3 on Memorial Drive between the western terminus and the Boston University Bridge.
History
The construction of Memorial Drive began in 1897 as part of the Charles River Basin project, a comprehensive urban renewal effort aimed at revitalizing the area along the Charles River.[4] The project aimed to create a park-like environment along the river, enhancing recreational opportunities and providing open spaces for the public.[citation needed] Originally known as Charles River Road, the road was officially renamed "Memorial Drive" in 1923 to honor the memory of the Massachusetts soldiers who had served and given their lives during World War I.[5][6]
In 1985, the Massachusetts Legislature passed a law requiring that the Metropolitan District Commission (later renamed the Department of Conservation and Recreation) close Memorial Drive between Gerry’s Landing Road and Western Avenue between 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., every Sunday from the end of April until mid-November.[7] With the closure of indoor recreation opportunities resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Cambridge City Council asked DCR to close the area on Saturdays as well. The DCR agreed and scheduled Saturday and Sunday closures for pedestrians and cyclists through 2022.[8] In April 2023, the DCR announced that it would be returning to its pre-pandemic schedule, and would no longer close Memorial Drive for pedestrians and cyclists on Saturdays going forward.[9] Parking is allowed on the westbound side of Memorial Drive for a short segment after JFK Street (except during rush hours, 7am-10am and 4pm-6pm), often surprising motorists in the right lane as there is no change in pavement markings.
In 2003, a two-mile section of Memorial Drive (from the Longfellow Bridge to the BU Bridge) was reconstructed ("Memorial Drive Greenway Phase I") as part of the Metropolitan District Commission's Historic Parkways Initiative to improve the safety and function of the roadway.[10] This dropped one eastbound lane and some parking.[11] The pedestrian and drainage infrastructure in this segment received a major upgrade ("Memorial Drive Greenway Phase II") in 2016.[11] DCR widened and reconstructed on an emergency basis the sidewalks on the approach to the BU bridge on the river side (which were not rebuilt in the 2003 and 2016 projects) after a cyclist was struck by a car and killed there in September, 2024.[12][13]
Reconstruction of the segment from JFK Street to the Eliot Bridge is planned to begin in 2025 ("Memorial Drive Greenway Phase III), enacting a road diet by reducing travel from two to one lane in each direction (except at traffic lights), adding a separate and wider bicycle path, removing part of Gerry's Landing Road, and adding a pedestrian crossing at Sparks Street.[11] The reduction to one lane will eliminate westbound roadway parking, but there will be a scull loading area added on the eastbound side on a different stretch, near the Cambridge Boat Club.
Reconstruction of the segment between JFK Street and the BU Bridge has been postponed indefinitely, until a more detailed traffic study can be performed.[14] Cambridge residents objected to a road diet in this segment, so it was dropped from the DCR Phase III project scope.[14] An estimated $46.5 MassDOT project[15] to repair, rebuild, or replace the MassDOT-owned Reid Overpass (which bypasses the DCR-owned rotary) is scheduled and funded for 2027, with planning underway in 2024.[14]
Route description
Memorial Drive begins in West Cambridge, signed as US 3 south and Route 2 east, at a three-way junction (a former rotary) with Greenough Boulevard (which continues roughly westward along the river and provides access to the Eliot Bridge) and Fresh Pond Parkway, which runs roughly north and carries the US 3 / Route 2 concurrency westward. It proceeds generally southward, following the sinuous curves of the river, from which it is separated by a strip of parkland that varies considerably in its width. In the western stretch it has four undivided lanes, two in each direction, although parking is permitted on the outer westbound lane for a short section west of JFK Street.
After crossing River Street it turns more eastward at the Magazine Street beach, with Route 2 diverging southward at a rotary-like interchange with overpass to cross the BU Bridge into Boston. Soon afterward the road is lined on the north by the buildings of the main Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) campus. A grassy median is introduced along this stretch, and the road crosses under Massachusetts Avenue (Route 2A), with ramps providing limited interchange options - due to the extremely low clearance of 9 ft (2.74 m), all trucks and buses must detour via the ramps. Heading eastbound, the designation changes from US 3 to Route 3 at this interchange (and vice versa westbound). The grassy median continues to divide the road until its end near Kendall Square at the Longfellow Bridge. Edwin H. Land Boulevard splits off and continues north towards O'Brien Highway (Route 28) and Interstate 93. Route 3 turns east onto the Longfellow Bridge and also crosses into Boston. The median, where present, has occasional opportunities for reversing direction.
Memorial Drive, like the parkways along the opposite (Boston) side of the river, is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, the successor to the Metropolitan District Commission. In keeping with the recreational mission, the section of Memorial Drive from Western Avenue to the split by Mount Auburn Hospital, at Gerry's Landing Road, is closed to motor vehicles on Sundays in the summer to allow for pedestrian and non-motorized users. The closure is in effect from 11 am to 7 pm starting the last Sunday of April until the second Sunday of November.[16]
A median near Massachusetts Avenue requires executing a so-called Michigan left for certain turns.
Near the Magazine Street intersection, the Shell Oil Company "Spectacular" Sign sits on top of its namesake station (first appearing there in 1944). It is one of two oil company signs that currently hold Boston Landmark status (the Citgo sign behind Fenway Park is the other).
Major intersections
The entire route is in Cambridge, Middlesex County.
| Location | mi[3] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Cambridge | 0.0 | 0.0 |   US 3 north / Route 2 west / Greenough Boulevard / Fresh Pond Parkway | Western terminus; US 3 / Route 2 continue west on Fresh Pond Parkway | |
| Riverside | 0.7 | 1.1 | John F. Kennedy Street – Harvard Square | ||
| 1.4 | 2.3 |  Western Avenue to I-90 (Mass PIke) | To Western Avenue Bridge | ||
| Cambridgeport | 2.2 | 3.5 |  Route 2 east – Cambridgeport, Central Square | Eastern end of Route 2 concurrency; to Boston University Bridge | |
| MIT Campus | 3.2 | 5.1 | Route 2A (Massachusetts Avenue) – Boston | Interchange with Michigan lefts; southern terminus of US 3; northern terminus of Route 3 | |
| 3.7 | 6.0 | Wadsworth Street – Kendall Square | |||
| 3.8 | 6.1 | Edwin H. Land Boulevard east – Kendall Square | Interchange | ||
| 3.9 | 6.3 |  Route 3 south (Longfellow Bridge) – Boston | Eastern terminus; Route 3 continues on Longfellow Bridge | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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