Central Artery Corridor Master Plan Unveiled

BOSTON-After 13 months and 19 citywide meetings as well as countless smaller ones, the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority revealed its plans for the Central Artery corridor–the acreage of land that will be exposed in the heart of Downtown once the Big Dig puts the highway underground. The Turnpike Authority worked with a steering committee and a team of consultants that included architects and planners.

The plan, which focuses on the eight parcels on seven acres that are designated open space according to the Article 49 zoning code, proposes a park for the North end of the city, a string of connecting parks in the middle along the Wharf District and a park in the Chinatown District. A new thoroughfare will bracket the parks. The cost of the plan will reportedly be $860,000.

According to Fred Yalouris, director of architecture and urban design for the Central Artery Tunnel Project, there is one parcel–parcel 18–that was supposed to be open space on which the plan recommends building a museum. Because the environmental certificate and the zoning code designate this parcel as open space it is unclear whether building will be allowed.