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MassDOT planning a pedestrian and bike path over the Charles near Museum of Science
The project includes a winding multi-use path, three islands, and movable bridges connecting Boston and Cambridge.
A winding pedestrian bridge could connect Boston and Cambridge across the Charles River near the Museum of Science, hoping to bring both museum visitors a unique river experience and cyclists a safe alternative to the busy nearby roads.
While the museum declined to comment, the Museum of Science initiated the project and will continue to support it through its development, according to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. MassDOT initiated the project earlier this year, but the plans stem from a 2023 feasibility study launched by the museum.
MassDOT confirmed the project will include an off-road shared use path with a movable bridge on the west side of the Museum of Science, connecting the Boston and Cambridge sides of the Charles River.
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The project aims to improve transit for pedestrians and bicyclists, MassDOT said, and includes a movable bridge to ensure uninterrupted marine traffic.
The museum received a more than $200,000 grant in 2022 to conduct a feasibility study to discover “the missing pedestrian link” at Science Park from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.
The feasibility study, authored in 2023, proposes a $302 million winding pedestrian bridge that connects the Leverett Circle, Charles River Dam Road, and the museum to Lechmere Canal and Cambridge.
The multi-use paths will be used by walkers and bikers, the study says, connecting a series of islands built as part of the project. The islands will attract wildlife and simulate river ecosystems, which the museum hopes to incorporate into its programming.
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The three islands, two of which won’t be accessible by the main multi-use bike and pedestrian trail, will act as “stepping stones” between Boston and Cambridge, according to the study. One bridge on the Boston side will span the Charles River dam locks, and a Cambridge bridge will cross the Lechmere Canal.
The accessible island could include an educational boardwalk and an event lawn, “creating a wonderful new front door for the museum,” the study says.
MassDOT did not mention the study, but the project design will be supported by the museum, which requested the feasibility study.
The project is in early development stages, and MassDOT will begin to engage neighbors and other stakeholders and identify a funding source, a spokesperson for MassDOT said. Then, the timeline for the project will be finalized.
A spokesperson for the Museum of Science referred questions to MassDOT.
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