This map is embedded using HTML, and is interactive.

This project sought to display the MBTA in its fullest version, with all of its plans—unbuilt, removed, current, and future—implemented. I also decided to include the highways of the greater Boston area, given its strong overlap with the MBTA.

Background

It was easy to decide where to begin: with the current map, of course!

As I mapped out the Green Line and its branches, I noticed that there was no A branch. Some light investigation led me to details of the former MBTA line, which split from the B branch near Packard’s Corner and continued towards Watertown. In this research, I also learned that the E branch originally continued south towards Arborway, which effectively served as a transfer station to the Orange Line.

Later, I came across plans for the Urban Ring, shown on my map in a thick pink. This rapid transit bus system was intended to compensate for the city’s lack of cross-town public transportation (for example, allowing commuters to travel from the Red Line in Cambridge all the way to the Green Line in Back Bay without having to go all the way into the city to transfer at Park Street). No new stations were planned to be built; instead, the buses would meet at pre-existing stations, particularly ones with significant traffic such as the Orange Line’s Ruggles and the Blue Line’s Airport. The shape of the Urban Ring seemed reminiscent of a highway. Further researched proved my theory to be correct!

I-695, known locally as the “Inner Belt”, was intended to circumvent Boston’s urban congestion, particularly that of the Central Artery. Although it was never completely built, Melnea Cass Bouelvard in Boston’s South End, an important road able to carry heavy traffic, still stands as a part of the original plan for I-695. Additionally, the Southwest Corridor was the plan to bring a highway from downtown Boston southwesterly towards I-95. This name may sound familiar because, after the highway was cancelled, the land originally claimed was ultimately repurposed for the Orange Line. Both I-695 and the Southwest Corridor are shown on my map in bright yellow.