In five months, Tetra Tech completed the mapping, permitting, and design of the first project under the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Historic Parkways Initiative—the rehabilitation of Memorial Drive.

The overall project included parkway reconstruction, multi-use pathways, drainage outfall improvements, bridge replacement and modifications, and pump station and lighting work. This urban pilot project is a model of stewardship that celebrates the scenic, cultural, recreational, and transportation roles of Massachusetts' diverse parkways.

Project highlights include:

• Reconstruction of a two-mile segment of Memorial Drive in the historic Charles River Basin, including pedestrian, bicycle, and parkway improvements, creation of a new multi-use path, and connections to Longfellow Bridge.
• Superstructure replacement for the Massachusetts Avenue Overpass Bridge to carry four travel lanes, a turning lane, and two 12-foot-wide sidewalks; and reconstruction of a 1.4 million gallon per day stormwater pump station.
• Environmental permitting, natural resource preservation, river bank stabilization, stormwater management, and landscape design.

Tetra Tech is providing construction-phase services for this $15 million project. The completed historic parkway corridor will be reclaimed as a valuable resource for the City of Cambridge, one that is safer for vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists. This was the first project constructed under the state's Historic Parkways Initiative.