Misplaced Pages

#132867

25-418: In 2023, Harvard reopened part of the freight yard to haul away contaminated dirt being excavated to build its nearby Enterprise Research Campus. The Boston and Worcester Railroad (B&W) began operating through Allston in 1834. The railroad established car shops near Cambridge Street by the mid-1840s. Beacon Trotting Park opened east of Cambridge Street in 1864 on land just north of the railroad. In 1890,

50-480: A new commuter rail station, West Station , will be constructed at the south edge of the yard. The plan includes new streets, bicycle paths and more parkland along the Charles River. MBTA plans included in 2013 a layover facility for commuter rail trains, with storage for up to 30 train consists. In April 2024, Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation Monica Tibbits-Nutt mentioned in a speech that she preferred

75-565: A solid hazardous waste transfer facility to begin the clean up process for the Allston Multimodal Project, starting with Harvard's Enterprise Research Campus. Dirt excavated from construction of new buildings is loaded into containers, which are then trucked to the Beacon Park Yard transfer facility. There, the containers are loaded onto railcars destined for landfills, mostly to Fairport, New York . As part of

100-744: Is punctuated with statuary and memorials, and forms the narrowest "link" in the Emerald Necklace . It connects the Public Garden to the Fens . Where Commonwealth Avenue reaches Kenmore Square , the MBTA Green Line B branch rises above ground and dominates the center of the roadway through the campus of Boston University and the neighborhoods of Allston and Brighton . After leaving Boston and entering Chestnut Hill in Newton ,

125-830: The Boston and Albany Railroad (B&A), successor to the B&;W, bought the land for use as a rail yard, named Beacon Park Yard after the trotting park. The B&A became part of the New York Central Railroad in 1900. In 1958, the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority bought the rail line east of Route 128 , including the rail yard and freight sidings, from the NYC for construction of the Massachusetts Turnpike . The Turnpike

150-625: The Urban Ring planning process. In 2007, the City of Boston allocated $ 500,000 in funding for the Allston Multimodal Station Study. The study analyzed both commuter rail and DMU local service along the corridor, with potential stops at Faneuil, Market Street, Everett Street , Cambridge Street, West (Ashford Street) inside Beacon Park Yard, and Commonwealth Avenue. It recommended an Everett Street stop, with stations at

175-724: The Newton section of the road is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Commonwealth Avenue Historic District . The mall that includes the landscape features, monuments, street furniture and fences that are bounded by Kenmore Street, Arlington Street and Commonwealth Avenue was designated as a Boston Landmark by the Boston Landmarks Commission in 1978. The addition of protected bike lanes between

200-543: The Turnpike Authority for $ 75 million despite the objections of local politicians including Boston Mayor Thomas Menino . Although both purchase agreements granted permanent easements to CSX and MassDOT, the objectors expressed concerns that wealthy Harvard would attempt to buy out CSX and disrupt freight service to Boston. In 1998, a new station in Allston-Brighton began to be considered as part of

225-499: The avenue passes by Boston College and the terminus of the MBTA Green Line B Branch. The trolley in the median is replaced by grass as the scenery becomes noticeably more suburban and residential, and the Commonwealth Avenue Historic District begins. As the road continues out of Chestnut Hill and into Newton Centre , Comm Ave is still made up of two roadways separated by a grassy median lined with trees. The south side of

250-524: The details below. Request from 172.68.168.150 via cp1114 cp1114, Varnish XID 924985402 Upstream caches: cp1114 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 07:59:17 GMT Commonwealth Avenue (Boston) Commonwealth Avenue (colloquially referred to as Comm Ave ) is a major street in the cities of Boston and Newton , Massachusetts . It begins at the western edge of the Boston Public Garden , and continues west through

275-420: The development of the yard, the state plans to reroute the Massachusetts Turnpike ( Interstate 90 ) just south of its current alignment within the confines of the old yard, in order to make the road safer and free up 60 acres for development. All-electronic toll collection eliminated the need for toll booths (since demolished) at the interchange, allowing a simpler layout. In September 2014, MassDOT announced that

SECTION 10

#1732780757133

300-626: The neighborhoods of the Back Bay , Kenmore Square , Boston University , Allston , Brighton and Chestnut Hill . It continues as part of Route 30 through Newton until it crosses the Charles River at the border of the town of Weston . Often compared to Georges-Eugène Haussmann's Paris boulevards, Commonwealth Avenue in Back Bay is a parkway divided at center by a wide grassy mall. This greenway , called Commonwealth Avenue Mall ,

325-492: The original on August 15, 2020 . Retrieved June 16, 2022 . {{ cite news }} : CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown ( link ) 42°21′21.89″N 71°7′22.24″W  /  42.3560806°N 71.1228444°W  / 42.3560806; -71.1228444 Boston and Worcester Railroad Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include

350-766: The other locations to come later. In September 2009, MassDOT reached a major agreement with CSX and Harvard over several railroad properties in the state. The state bought the outer Framingham/Worcester Line , Track 61 , the Grand Junction Railroad , and several branch lines needed for South Coast Rail from CSX. The state also partially funded a new container yard in Worcester and a transload facility in Westborough , which allowed CSX to eventually vacate Beacon Park Yard for redevelopment. The state inherited CSX's easements, requiring Harvard to petition

375-503: The property along and around this part of Commonwealth Avenue. This 1.5-mile stretch is the most central route to commuting around Boston University's main campus, also known as the Charles River Campus, and is frequented by pedestrians, bicycles, and other means of transportation. Walking from one end (Kenmore Square) to the other end (Packard's Corner) or vice versa takes about 25–35 minutes. The Commonwealth Avenue Mall

400-494: The purchase of an additional 19 acres (77,000 m) of CSX land north of Cambridge Street for $ 97.25 million. Harvard's plan is to use the land as a park and later redevelopment. In 2017 and 2018, the yard was used as a staging area for the replacement of the Commonwealth Avenue Bridge over the Massachusetts Turnpike . In late 2023, the rail yard was partially rebuilt by Harvard and reopened for use as

425-511: The road passes over the Massachusetts Turnpike in the Auburndale section of Newton. The avenue ends as it leaves Newton, crosses the Charles River and interchanges with Route 128 . The linear 1.5 miles (2.4 km) stretch of Commonwealth Avenue between Kenmore Square and Packard's Corner (where Brighton Avenue maintains a straight continuum and Commonwealth Avenue splits off) contains much of Boston University's campus. BU owns much of

450-524: The roadway contains the main, two-lane east-west roadway, with a one-way, westbound "carriage road" providing local access on the north side of the median. The section of Comm Ave from Cleveland Circle in Brighton to Route 16 in Newton is along the Boston Marathon route, and is known to be especially hilly, containing the three “Newton hills”. The carriage road continues into West Newton , and

475-535: The state before developing any property; because of this, Harvard did not include the site in its 2007 master plan. Construction of the Worcester container yard began in 2011, and CSX vacated Beacon Park Yard in February 2013. CSX demolished buildings, removed old rail cars, and completed soil and groundwater remediation to make the site usable for future development. In December 2015, Harvard University completed

500-501: The stretch of Commonwealth Avenue between Warren Street and Sutherland Road became the first street paved with concrete in Boston. Streetcar service was cut back to its present terminus at the Boston border in 1930 and buses last ran on Commonwealth Avenue in 1976. An amusement park and ballroom known as Norumbega Park was built at the end of the line on the Charles River in 1897 to increase streetcar patronage. The eastern half of

525-460: The university purchased 47 acres (19 ha) of "Allston Landing North" - land north of Cambridge Street, and between Cambridge Street and the Turnpike - from the Turnpike Authority. In April 2003, the university purchased 91 acres (37 ha) of "Allston Landing South" - including Beacon Park Yard, the Worcester mainline tracks , the Turnpike mainline and interchange, and CSX's engine yard - from

SECTION 20

#1732780757133

550-536: The yard be located on recently purchased property in Widett Circle ; MassDOT was also negotiating with Amtrak for layover space. In November 2024, the state indicated plans to have a four-track layover yard at Beacon Park. Sullivan, Kyle; Deusser, Becky; Haberlin, Kim (September 23, 2009). "Massachusetts finalizes agreement with CSX Transportation" . Office of the Governor & Lt. Governor. Archived from

575-558: The yard. The NYC became part of Penn Central on February 1, 1968, which in turn became Conrail on April 1, 1976. When Conrail was broken up in 2000, freight operations on the line, including Beacon Park Yard, became part of CSX Transportation . In the late 1990s, Harvard University began planning a major expansion southward in Lower Allston , where substantial parcels of marginal industrial and derelict land could be redeveloped for academic, research, and commercial use. In 2000,

600-614: Was designed by Arthur Delevan Gilman . Frederick Law Olmsted designed the Newton portion of Commonwealth Avenue and included the parkway as part of the Emerald Necklace park system. The first statue on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall was erected in 1865 at Arlington Street. The Newton end of the roadway was constructed in 1895 with a line of the Middlesex and Boston Street Railway in the median. In 1923,

625-460: Was routed along the north edge of the yard, with a toll plaza and interchange to Cambridge Street and Soldiers Field Road there. A truck tunnel was built under the Turnpike at the west end of the yard to provide access from Cambridge Street, and a set of ramps provided yard access to and from the westbound Turnpike. This enabled use of the yard for transload operations, where freight was transferred from long-distance freight trains to local trucks in

#132867