Morrissey Boulevard

Morrissey Boulevard is a six-lane divided coastal road in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is owned and maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).

William T. Morrissey Boulevard
Morrissey Boulevard highlighted in red
Maintained by Department of Conservation and Recreation
Length 2.71 mi[1] (4.36 km)
Location Boston, Massachusetts
South end Route 3A / Route 203 (Neponset Circle)
North end Kosciuszko Circle
Construction
Completion 1924

Route description

A parkway, Morrissey Boulevard leaves Neponset Circle at its northeast quadrant as the left two lanes of a three lane exit, with the rightmost lane splitting to the east as an entrance ramp to the Southeast Expressway (Interstate 93). Traveling under the expressway within a landscaped park area fronting the DCR-operated Devine Memorial ice rink,[2] the road then travels north through the Neponset and Popes Hill sections of Dorchester with commercial establishments on both sides. The road splits as it passes under the tracks of the MBTA Red Line rapid transit route at what was previously Popes Hill Station of the Old Colony Railroad.[3][4] A Dunkin' Donuts store now occupies the area between the two roadways. The entrance to Tenean Beach, part of the DCR's Dorchester Shores Reservation, is located off the right roadway in this section.[5]

Morrissey Boulevard proceeds north past the Richard J. Murphy Elementary School and is flanked by heavy commercial development over the following 0.5 miles (0.80 km) to Freeport Street. At Freeport, the road again passes beneath the expressway and travels to the east of it from that point to the end of the boulevard. As a northbound exit ramp from the expressway enters on the right, the view east is dominated by a 140-foot (43 m) LNG storage tank which is painted with Rainbow Swash, an iconic work by Corita Kent that has made the gas tank a Boston landmark.[6] The parkway passes over the inlet from Dorchester Bay to Savin Hill Bay carried by the John J. Beades Memorial Bridge, a drawbridge which opens to allow passage to Dorchester Yacht Club.[7] Savin Hill Beach, Malibu Beach, Savin Hill Yacht Club and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial of Dorchester are located along Morrissey Boulevard in this area adjacent to Savin Hill and featured as part of Boston Harborwalk.[8]

The University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston College High School, and the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum are among the institutions located on Morrissey Boulevard in its northernmost stretch beyond Savin Hill. The road ends as it intersects Columbia Road and Day Boulevard at Kosciuszko Circle, adjacent to the Harbor Point section of Dorchester and JFK/UMass subway and commuter rail station.[9]

History
Morrissey Boulevard and UMass Boston from the I-93/US-1/MA-3 concurrency in Dorchester in April 2014.

The road was designed as early as 1906 as an urban parkway to be constructed along the route of the Old Colony Railroad to give travelers to Quincy and Massachusetts South Shore locations a way to bypass city streets.[10] In planning for nearly two decades, it was finally completed in 1924 and named Old Colony Parkway.[11] The originally proposed route paralleling the railroad was changed and moved to the shore of Dorchester Bay on the Atlantic Ocean due in part to land reclamation efforts prior to completion of the road. Old Colony Parkway was renamed William T. Morrissey Boulevard in 1951 in honor of the former head of the Metropolitan District Commission, now the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).[11] The older commission constructed many parkways within Greater Boston and the DCR continues to own and maintain Morrissey Boulevard.[10]

Flooding and maintenance
See also: Coastal flooding, Sea level rise, and Storm surge

It is becoming known for high tide flooding.[12][13] The thoroughfare was flooded during the January 2018 North American blizzard,[14] the first March 2018 nor'easter,[15] and during the January 2019 North American winter storm.[16] In September 2020, the thoroughfare was flooded during the passage of Hurricane Teddy,[17] while a king tide caused Morrissey Boulevard to become flooded in November 2020,[18] and the thoroughfare was flooded during the second December 2020 nor'easter.[19] The thoroughfare was flooded during the 2021 Groundhog Day nor'easter.[20][21] In July 2021, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released a report estimating that Boston would experience 11 to 18 days of high tide flooding in the following year.[22] The thoroughfare was flooded during the January 2022 North American blizzard.[23]

In February 2016, the DCR announced public meetings for designing a restoration project for Morrissey Boulevard to a local civic association.[24] In October 2018, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh announced a comprehensive climate change adaptation proposal to protect the Boston Harbor coastline from flooding that included a proposal to re-design Morrissey Boulevard,[25] and in October 2020, the Walsh administration released a 174-page climate change adaptation report for the Boston Harbor coastline in Dorchester that included proposals to elevate Morrissey Boulevard to as high as 16 feet NAVD 88 and install tide gates and berms with cost estimates ranging from $55.6 million to $90.9 million.[26][27] In March 2021, the administrations of Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker and Marty Walsh announced a $1 million infrastructure study to improve the Morrissey Boulevard corridor.[28][29] In February 2022, Governor Baker announced an $8.2 million project to construct a 0.7-mile shared-use path from Tenean Beach on the Neponset River Reservation to Morrissey Boulevard and that will connect Neponset with the Boston Harborwalk via Morrissey (including a 670-foot boardwalk in the salt marshes near the National Grid gas tank) that will be included in the $9.5 billion in federal funds the state government received under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.[30][31]

Property development
Former Boston Globe headquarters at 135 Morrissey in September 2009.
Former Morrissey Boulevard WLVI studio pylon with the former WB affiliate logo visible in October 2019.
See also: Bayside Expo Center § Redevelopment, Biotechnology industry in Boston, and Real estate development

In 1958, The Boston Globe moved from its original location on Washington Street in Downtown Boston to 135 Morrissey until moving to Exchange Place in 2017.[32][33] In November 2014, The Boston Globe entered into a purchase and sale agreement with Winstanley Enterprises for 135 Morrissey that Winstanley withdrew from in February 2015.[34][35][36] In July 2016, The Boston Globe agreed to sell 135 Morrissey to Center Court Properties for $80 million which Center Court cancelled in May 2017.[37][38][39] In December 2017, The Boston Globe agreed to sell 135 Morrissey to the Nordblom Company for $81 million,[40] and the following month, Nordblom announced a $200 million project called "The BEAT" to redevelop the property into a biotechnology and advanced manufacturing facility.[41]

In April 2018, the Nordblom proposal was approved by the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) and by the Zoning Board of Appeals the following August.[42][43] In February 2019, Nordblom received a building permit for The BEAT.[44] In June 2019, Accordia Partners acquired five buildings at 2 Morrissey across Mount Vernon Street from the Bayside Expo Center after the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees unanimously approved a 99-year final lease agreement for the Bayside property with Accordia for approximately $192 million to $235 million the previous February.[45][46][47] After filing a 3-page letter of intent with the BPDA in March 2020,[48] Accordia Partners filed a 187-page project notification form with the BPDA the following September for a mixed-use development titled "Dorchester Bay City" on 34 acres of land that will total 5.9 million square feet of gross floor area laid out over 17 city blocks, and will feature commercial and public space as well as 1,740 residential housing units.[49]

In August 2021, Nordblom announced that tenants would begin to occupy The BEAT the following spring as well as a partnership with Beacon Capital Partners.[50] In January 2022, Beacon and Nordblom announced a proposal at a public meeting to construct a 6-story building on-site at The BEAT for biotechnology company tenants.[51] In February 2022, Beacon and Nordblom requested support from the Columbia-Savin Hill Civic Association on an application for animal testing at The BEAT.[52] In March 2022, the BPDA approved a project to expand the Herb Chambers Honda car dealership at 710–720 Morrissey from a 1-story building into a 4-story building with 222 indoor parking spaces and 171 surface spaces,[53] while Center Court Partners developers presented a proposal to members of the Columbia-Savin Hill Civic Association to develop 9 acres of land in between the former Boston Globe headquarters and the JFK/UMass station (including the former WLVI television station) into seven 9-to-22-story buildings with four buildings intended for use by biotechnology companies and three buildings for residential use.[54] In April 2022, Beacon Capital Partners announced to the Columbia-Savin Hill Civic Association that it would apply for a liquor license for a restaurant at The BEAT.[55]

Major intersections

The entire route is in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Suffolk County.

mi[56]kmDestinationsNotes
0.00.0 Route 3A / Route 203 (Gallivan Boulevard) – Neponset, Quincy, Ashmont, Forest Hills, Jamaica Plain
0.30.48 I-93 / US 1 (Route 3) – Boston, Braintree, Cape CodExit 12 on I-93 / US 1 / Route 3
2.64.2Columbia Road / Day Boulevard – Boston, South Boston, QuincyTraffic circle
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References
  1. Executive Office of Transportation, Office of Transportation Planning - 2007 Road Inventory Archived 2006-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "DCR Skating Rinks". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  3. O'Regan, Gerry. "MBTA Red Line". nycsubway.org. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  4. Cassani, Janice. "Pope's Hill". Dorchester Atheneum. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  5. "Dorchester Shores Reservation". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  6. "Wartime Visions". National Public Radio. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  7. Forry, Bill (June 4, 2003). "State Officials: Morrissey Drawbridge Work to End by Late Summer". Dorchester Reporter. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  8. "Dorchester: Malibu Beach / Savin Hill Beach". Places to go. The Boston Harbor Association. Archived from the original on 9 December 2010. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  9. "JFK/UMass Statiom". MBTA. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  10. Seasholes, Nancy S. (2003). Gaining Ground: A History of Landmaking in Boston. Boston: MIT Press. p. 342. ISBN 978-0-262-19494-5. OCLC 51810749. Retrieved 2009-10-31.
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  13. "In Dorchester, you don't need a boat to go on a sea cruise".
  14. "Major Flooding Wreaks Havoc in Boston, Along Massachusetts Coast". WBTS. January 4, 2018. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  15. Lucey, Kim (March 2, 2018). "Historic high tide, heavy rain turns Boston streets into rivers". WHDH. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  16. Perry, Aaron (January 20, 2019). "Flash Freeze Sets in as Winter Storm Hits New England". WBTS. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
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  18. Fortier, Marc (November 16, 2020). "King Tide Causes Street Flooding in Boston, Surrounding Areas". WBTS. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
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  55. Smith, Jennifer (April 20, 2022). "Liquor license sought for old Globe building, owners eyeing food and beverages services". Dorchester Reporter. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
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