The River Street Bridge is a bridge

Bridge

A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...

 connecting River Street in Cambridge, MA to Cambridge Street in Allston, Boston, MA. It was built in 1925 by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Metropolitan District Commission.

The bridge carries one-way traffic going east, into Cambridge. Westbound traffic must take the nearby Western Avenue Bridge

Western Avenue Bridge

The Western Avenue Bridge is a bridge carrying Western Avenue over the Charles River between Cambridge, MA and Allston, Boston, MA. It was built in 1924 by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Metropolitan District Commission....

.

History

The original bridge at the site, a wooden drawbridge, was built in 1810. The bridge was built in response to the 1793 construction of the West Boston Bridge (at the site of the current Longfellow Bridge), because the two bridges together greatly shortened the route from Boston to Cambridge, which previously had to take a highway around the Back Bay through Roxbury.

The current reinforced-concrete bridge was constructed in 1925 with three arches that span 330 feet. It was designed by Robert P. Bellows in a style resembling the Pont Neuf

Pont Neuf

The Pont Neuf is, despite its name, the oldest standing bridge across the river Seine in Paris, France. Its name, which was given to distinguish it from older bridges that were lined on both sides with houses, has remained....

 in Paris.

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