As part of the Patrick-Murray Administration's Accelerated Bridge Program, over $400 million in funding has been allocated to improving the conditions of structurally deficient bridges in the Lower Basin area of the Charles River. Created ninety years ago from tidal marshes and mud flats, the Charles River Basin operates as a complex transportation and linkage system. This area serves as a host to many historic and natural resources, including parks, shared use pathways, public boat landings, boat houses, recreational facilities and leading higher educational institutions. Bridge Rehabilitation Projects currently completed or underway include the Craigie Dam Bridge and Craigie Drawbridge, the Longfellow Bridge, the Boston University Bridge, Western Avenue Bridge, River Street Bridge and the Anderson Memorial Bridge, and Magazine Beach Pedestrian Bridge.

The historic Charles River Basin bridges provide critical connections in and out of Boston for a wide range of users, including businesses, universities, hospitals, bicyclists, pedestrians, and drivers. The bridges are important evacuation routes and serve countless recreational users along the Charles River. To ensure that impacts are managed and minimized the following steps have been taken by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT):