The Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge that carries Interstate 93 across the Charles River between Boston’s North End and Charlestown. Completed in 2003 as part of the Big Dig megaproject, its twin obelisk-shaped towers and fanned cables are designed to echo the Bunker Hill Monument, and the structure was among the widest cable-stayed bridges in the world when it opened.
The bridge is named both for the Battle of Bunker Hill and for Lenny Zakim, a Boston civil rights leader. It has become a defining feature of the modern Boston skyline, especially when lit at night, and is a favorite photo subject from the nearby riverbanks and parks. Note that the bridge is a highway crossing with no public pedestrian path across it; visitors typically admire and photograph it from surrounding viewpoints such as Paul Revere Park and the North Point area.
Good to know
- A cable-stayed highway bridge built as part of the Big Dig, opened 2003
- Tower design evokes the nearby Bunker Hill Monument
- Best experienced as a view; no public pedestrian crossing on the bridge
- Good vantage points include Paul Revere Park and North Point Park
Getting there
- Address: Interstate 93 over the Charles River, between the North End (Boston) and Charlestown, Boston, MA
- Neighborhood: Spans the North End and Charlestown
- Nearest T: North Station (MBTA Orange Line and Green Line) is the closest T station to the Boston-side viewpoints