Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Secretary and CEO Richard A. Davey joined local officials to break ground on the Anderson Memorial Bridge, connecting the cities of Boston and Cambridge over the Charles River.

The historic bridge rehabilitation, a $19.9 million project funded through the Patrick-Murray Administration’s Accelerated Bridge Program (ABP), includes structural repairs to the concrete arch bridge that carries North Harvard Street over the Charles River, and to the extent possible, reusing original masonry features. Construction will be done in four phases and will be complete by fall 2014.

“Through the Accelerated Bridge Program, we are reversing decades of neglect, restoring our roads and bridges to a condition that we can all be proud of,” Davey said.

The bridge, which is a three-span structure, is 440 ft. (134.1 m) in total length. During construction, two arches will remain open at all times to allow for recreational boaters and rowers in the Charles River to pass under the bridge and the roadway will be reduced to one lane in each direction using a combination of striping and barrels to guide traffic through the site.

Approximately $400 million in ABP funds have been allocated for the seven Charles River bridges. This is the third bridge rehabilitation project to get under way to connect Cambridge and Boston following the completion of the Craigie Dam Bridge and the Craigie Drawbridge.

Finished in 1915, the existing bridge was built by Larz Anderson, who named the bridge the “Anderson Memorial Bridge” after his father, Nicholas Longworth Anderson.

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