List of crossings of the Charles River

This is a list of the crossings of the Charles River from its mouth at Boston Harbor upstream to its source at Echo Lake. All locations are in Massachusetts.

Crossings

Image	Crossing	Carries or connects	Location	Built	Length	Notes	Coordinates
	William Felton "Bill" Russell Bridge		Boston to Charlestown	1900		The MBTA Orange Line used this bridge, before the upstream tunnel was completed in 1975. Site of a ferry established in 1630; obsoleted by the Charles River Bridge, built 1786
	Charles River Dam	pedestrians and bikers	Boston to Charlestown	1978		Fish ladder, pumps and three locks for navigation. Site of the Warren Bridge, built 1828, demolished 1962.
	Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge		Boston to Charlestown	2003		Replaced Charlestown High Bridge, built 1956, demolished 2004
	Haymarket North Extension tunnel	MBTA Orange Line	Boston to Charlestown	1975
	Leverett Circle Connector Bridge	I-93 exit 18 onramp and offramp	Boston to Cambridge	1999
	MBTA Commuter Rail Charles River Bridge	MBTA Commuter Rail at North Station	Boston to Cambridge	1931		Bascule drawbridge Site of Boston and Lowell Railroad Charles River Bridge, built 1835, first movable railroad bridge in the United States
	MBTA Green Line Lechmere Viaduct	MBTA Green Line	Boston to Cambridge	1912
	Charles River Dam Bridge		Boston to Cambridge	1910		The Boston Museum of Science is located on this bridge
	Longfellow Bridge	MBTA Red Line	Boston to Cambridge	1907		MBTA Red Line in median; built in 1907 as the Cambridge Bridge, renamed for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in 1927. Site of West Boston Bridge, built 1793
	Harvard Bridge		Boston to Cambridge	1891, 1909, 1924, 1990		Longest bridge over the Charles. Northern terminus at MIT, not Harvard University.
	Boston University Bridge		Boston to Cambridge	1927		built as the Cottage Farm Bridge, renamed in 1949
	Grand Junction Railroad Bridge	MBTA Grand Junction Branch	Boston to Cambridge			crosses the river under the Boston University Bridge
	River Street Bridge	River St/Cambridge St	Boston to Cambridge	1926
	Western Avenue Bridge	Western Avenue	Boston to Cambridge	1924
	John W. Weeks Bridge	pedestrians	Boston to Cambridge	1926		the only footbridge across the basin, with a Harvard campus steam tunnel inside
	Anderson Memorial Bridge	N. Harvard Street/JFK Street	Boston to Cambridge	1912		A memorial to Nicholas Longworth Anderson donated by his son Larz Anderson Site of a ferry established 1635 at the foot of Dunster Street in Cambridge, at canal/creek; obsoleted by Great Bridge, built 1662, rebuilt 1862
	Eliot Bridge	Soldiers Field Rd, Memorial Drive	Boston to Cambridge	1950		a memorial to Charles W. Eliot, Harvard president 1869–1909, and his son Charles Eliot, landscape architect for the Metropolitan Park Commission
200px	Arsenal Street Bridge	Arsenal St/Western Ave	Brighton to Watertown	1925
200px	North Beacon Street Bridge		Brighton to Watertown	1917
200px	Watertown Bridge		Watertown	about 1907
	Watertown Dam	no crossing	Watertown	1900		The Charles River Watershed Association has proposed removal of the dam.
	Cpl. Joseph U. Thompson Footbridge	pedestrians and bicycles	Watertown			Demolished 2017
	Cpl. Joseph U. Thompson Footbridge	pedestrians and bicycles	Watertown	2018		Replaced old span
	Bridge Street Bridge	Bridge St	Newton to Watertown
	Bemis Dam	no crossing	Newton to Watertown	1821		breached 1944
	Blue Heron Footbridge	Charles River Bike Path	Newton to Watertown	2005
	Farwell Street Bridge	Farwell St	Waltham
200px	Bleachery Footbridge	Former pedestrian bridge site, demolished 1960s.	Waltham
200px	Bleachery Dam	no crossing	Waltham	1794		originally Gore Paper Mill dam
	Mary T. Early Footbridge		Waltham	2004		formerly Calvary Street Footbridge
	Boston & Maine Railroad trestle	abandoned Watertown Branch Railroad	Waltham			Demolished in 2016
	Charles F. Graceffa Bridge	Newton Street	Waltham	1877
200px	Elm Street Bridge	Elm St	Waltham
	Boston & Maine Railroad trestle	abandoned Watertown Branch	Waltham			Demolished in 2015
	Richard Landry Park footbridge		Waltham	1978
	Waltham Dam or Moody Street Dam		Waltham	1836		original Eden Vale dam built 1785
	Moody Street bridge		Waltham	1946		original built 1846, rebuilt 1871, 1921
	Gold Star Mothers Bridge		Waltham	1889		Carries Prospect Street; drawbridge 1882
200px	Commonwealth Avenue/South Avenue Bridge		Newton to Weston			site of old Norumbega Bridge
200px	I-90/I-95 connector		Newton to Weston			original Mass Pike terminus until 1964
200px	Massachusetts Turnpike Boston Extension		Newton to Weston
	I-90/I-95 connector		Newton to Weston
	Footbridge from Riverside Rd., Newton to Recreation Rd., Weston	pedestrians	Newton to Weston			demolished 2023; replacement under construction, scheduled for completion in 2025
	Road bridge from Riverside Rd., Newton to Recreation Rd., Weston	demolished 1960s around time of Massachusetts Turnpike Extension	Newton to Weston
	CSX/MBTA railroad bridge	Framingham/Worcester Line	Newton to Weston			Single-arch concrete span
	Pony Truss Bridge	pedestrians	Newton to Weston			accessible from Riverside Park off Recreation Rd., Weston
	I-95 offramp		Newton to Weston			northbound exits 23–25; originally Route 128 until 1964
200px	I-95 / Route 128		Newton to Weston
	Concord Street/Park Road bridge		Newton to Weston
	Leo J. Martin Golf Club Footbridge		Newton to Wellesley
200px	Newton–Wellesley Lower Falls Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge		Newton to Wellesley	rebuilt 2012		formerly abandoned Boston & Albany RR Newton Lower Falls Branch bridge
	Washington Street Bridge		Newton to Wellesley
	Finlay Dam		Newton to Wellesley
200px	Cordingly Dam and Falls		Newton to Wellesley
200px	Mary Hunnewell Fyffe Footbridge		Newton to Wellesley	1983		Previous bridges built in 1909 and before 1906
200px	Wales Street/Walnut Street Bridge		Newton to Wellesley
200px	Cochituate Aqueduct	Closed.	Newton to Wellesley	1848
200px	I-95 / Route 128		Newton to Wellesley
200px	Boston-Worcester Turnpike Bridge		Newton to Wellesley
200px	Metropolitan Circular Dam	No crossing.	Newton to Wellesley	2010s replacement for older dam
	Echo Bridge	pedestrians, bicycles, and the Sudbury Aqueduct	Newton to Needham	1876
	Silk Mill Dam	No crossing.	Newton to Needham
	Elliot Street/Central Avenue Bridge	Eliot St/Central Ave	Newton to Needham
200px	rail bridge	Closed.	Newton to Needham			Formerly carried the Charles River Railroad. A proposal was made in 2023 to rehabilitate the bridge as a link in a proposed "Newton/Needham Community Way".
200px	Needham Street Bridge	Needham Street, Newton / Highland Avenue, Needham	Newton to Needham	1875
200px	Christina Street rail bridge	Closed.	Newton to Needham			The City of Newton is studying the replacement of this bridge with a new structure.
200px	Kendrick Street/Nahanton Street Bridge	Kendrick St/Nahanton St	Newton to Needham
	MBTA Commuter Rail Needham Line bridge		West Roxbury to Needham
	Honorable Robert L. Cawley Bridge	Bridge Street, Dedham / Spring Street, West Roxbury	West Roxbury to Dedham
	Ames Street Bridge		Dedham			A footbridge was first built in this location in 1640 by William Bullard and John Eaton. It was the first crossing in Dedham.
	Bridge Street Bridge		Dedham
200px	Interstate 95/Route 128		Needham to Dedham				Between exits 17 & 18 on I-95
200px	Greendale Avenue/Lyons Street Bridge		Needham to Dedham	1879		There has been a bridge on the site since the 1740s, but the current bridge was built in 1879.
200px	Route 135/West Street/Dedham Avenue Bridge		Needham to Dedham
200px	Chestnut Street Bridge		Needham to Dover
200px	dam	No crossing.	Needham to Dover			A USGS flow gauge is located here.
200px	dam	No crossing.	Needham to Dover
200px	Willow Street/South Street Bridge		Needham to Dover
200px	rail bridge	Closed.	Needham to Dover			Formerly carried the Charles River Railroad
200px	Central Ave/Centre Street Bridge		Needham to Dover
	missing bridge?		Needham to Dover
200px	Dover Road/Charles River Street Bridge		Needham to Dover
200px	Cheney Drive Bridge		Needham to Dover			Access road to Elm Bank Reservation.
	Water Street Bridge	No longer extant.	South Natick
	Pleasant Street Bridge		South Natick
	South Natick Dam		South Natick			In 2022, the Town of Natick Select Board voted to seek state approval to remove the dam.
	Sargent Bridge		South Natick			No public access.
	Farm Road/Bridge Street Bridge		Sherborn to Dover
	rail bridge	CSX Framingham Secondary	Sherborn to Medfield
	South Main Street/North Meadows Road Bridge		Sherborn to Medfield
	former bridge?		Sherborn to Medfield
	rail bridge	Millis Industrial Track	Medfield to Millis
	Dover Road Bridge		Medfield to Millis			Bridge site going back to 1640s, including one burnt by Native Americans during King Philip's War in 1675.
200px	Turner Bridge		Medfield to Millis
200px	Dwight's Bridge	Dwight Street Millis to Medfield	Medfield to Millis			Over the Charles River off Causeway Street on Dwight Street. This was so named and built so Timothy Dwight could get to land he owned in the area. This bridge was washed out in the Great 1936 Flood and never rebuilt.
200px	Forest Road/Orchard Street Bridge		Medfield to Millis
200px	Norfolk Road Bridge		Millis
	Dean Street/Pleasant Street Bridge		Millis
	Destroyed railroad bridge	Medway Branch	Millis	1852		Rail line was abandoned in 1864. Bridge abutments remain.
	Myrtle Street bridge		Millis
	Destroyed railroad bridge	Medway Branch	1852	Medway		Rail line was abandoned in 1864. Bridge abutments remain.
	Walker Street Bridge			Medway
	Sanford Street Bridge		Medway to Franklin
	Sanford Mill Dam		Medway to Franklin
	Shaw Street/Elm Street Bridge		Medway to Franklin
	Woodland Park Bridge		Medway to Franklin
	dam	No crossing.	Medway to Franklin
	Franklin Street/Pond Street Bridge		Medway to Franklin
	Pearl Street Bridge		Bellingham
	Plymouth Road Bridge		Bellingham
200px	Maple Street Bridge		Bellingham
200px	Maple Street Dam		Bellingham
	I-495 bridge		Bellingham
200px	High Street Bridge		Bellingham
	footbridge	Onetime road bridge site	Bellingham
200px	North Main Street Bridge		Bellingham
	rail bridge		Bellingham
	Depot Street Bridge		Bellingham
	Hartford Avenue Bridge		Bellingham to Mendon/Hopedale
	rail bridge		Bellingham to Hopedale
	Mellen Street Bridge and Dam		Bellingham to Hopedale
	Howard Street Bridge		Hopedale to Milford
	rail bridge		Hopedale to Milford
	Howard Street Bridge		Milford
	rail bridge		Milford
	Central Street Bridge		Milford
	Main Street Culvert		Milford
	Milford Pond Dam and Footbridge		Milford
	Dilla Street Bridge		Milford
	Dilla Street Dam		Milford
	old road bridge		Milford
	culvert	Upper Charles Trail	Milford
	I-495 culvert		Milford
	Wildcat Pond Bridge and Dam	Private road	Milford
	footbridge		Milford
	bridge	Upper Charles River Trail	Milford
200px	Route 85 bridge		Milford
	footbridge		Milford
	bridge	Upper Charles River Trail	Milford
	footbridge		Milford
	footbridge		Milford
200px	Route 85 bridge		Milford
200px	Echo Lake Dam	No crossing.	Hopkinton

Source: Echo Lake