By rebuilding Interstate 93 as a tunnel through downtown Boston, the $14 billion Central Artery/Tunnel project is creating 23 acres of new open space and will rejoin its downtown to its waterfront. Copley Wolff Design Group has prepared final design and construction documentation for the restoration of the surface landscape along this highly visible mile-long downtown corridor.

Since 1996, CWDG has been working in conjunction with city agencies, neighborhood groups, abutting property owners, businesses and residents. The task has been to create a final streetscape design and interim treatment for the corridor's central parcels.

The $20 million dollars of improvements includes planting, lighting, furnishings, and utilities. Other key elements of the project include Artery Arts installations, planting technologies, and design of specific public areas such as Portal Park. The urban design concept, developed through a public process, formed the basis upon which the preliminary design and construction documentation were built. The intent of the current design is to promote the individual character of the neighborhoods, while still providing an overarching, cohesive streetscape. The envisioned tree-lined boulevard running the length of the corridor will serve as the infrastructure inside of which the new interior open spaces will be designed. Connecting these interior open parcels of land to the waterfront is achieved through chosen plantings, paving, furnishings, lighting and art installations. CWDG has developed a vocabulary of streetscape elements - lighting, sidewalks, crosswalks, street trees, planters, benches, trash receptacles, bike racks, and other street furnishings - that will create a recognizable identity for each district through which the corridor runs.